easy sundays

it's been a little lonely around here with randy being gone and all, but i'm going to enjoy my lazy sunday with the oscars, a bottle of wine, and daydreams about picking him up from the airport tomorrow<3

99 tiny stories

"Today, exactly 10 months after suffering from a severe stroke that nearly killed him,

my dad got up from his wheelchair without any help for the first time,

and slow danced with me during the father/daughter dance at my wedding."

somehow, i happened upon this post on this blog and i knew i had to share it with all of you.

if you surf around the website, you'll see tons of inspiring things and wonderful reminders, including how to inspire people around you, things to start doing in your relationships, simple truths.. it goes on and on.

the 99 tiny stories to make you think, smile, and cry post is just breathtaking. i will be literally sobbing after reading 10 stories - because they're heartbreaking, inspiring, wonderful, amazing... things that truly will make you think, smile, and grab for the tissues.

happiness habits

january is a crazy month.

i have my birthday along with some work travel for trade shows, which makes for a crazy office environment upon my return.

as most of you know, the daily routine of school or work can get really annoying, so here are 12 happiness habits for busy people:

1. smile at perfect strangers.

2. pretend today is going to be a great day.

3. reflect on what's good.

4. use personal strengths to get things done.

5. use your imagination.

6. create something.

7. help someone else for a couple minutes.

8. share your lunch break with a close friend.

9. get rid of one thing a day.

10. meditate.

11. avoid negativity and negative people.

12. enjoy the moment.

you is

*source

a good reminder.

things you should whisper to yourself daily

[content: sex, love & liberation]
[photos: me]

sunshine

my life has been feeling very sunshine-y lately, and i'm loving it!

i agree with the photo above (love it!), but i also think that you can't bring sunshine into the lives of others if you can't bring it into your life first, which is what i've been concentrating on lately.

this sounds so dumb and i'm really second-guessing myself about putting this out for everyone to see, but i was getting ready for work yesterday morning and for some reason the line "don't be a drag, just be a queen" from that awful lady gaga song popped into my head. although that song is not one of my favorites, she's completely right - so i've decided to make that my mantra this week. i'm going to concentrate on the positive - and be fabulous doing it!

until next time..

<3 alaina

love among the ruins

how romantic is this??

during the riot in vancouver, bc after game 7 of the stanley cup finals, scott jones calmed his girlfriend, alexandra thomas, by kissing her after she had gotten knocked down by police officials.

a moment of love among a terrible riot that left 150 people injured and almost 100 arrested.

until next time..

<3 alaina

i think i can.. i know i can..

i'm going to make this my mantra this week:

until next time..

<3 alaina

************

until next time..

<3 alaina

midnight black

this is a repost from midnight black. jessica has an installment called '10 little reminders' and there are some that really resonated with me:

 

5. everything will always be okay in the end. i've had days where i have been so sad, all i wanted to do was cry all day. especially over the past few years with money, i have experienced times when i thought "this is it... i can't go on." it sounds ridiculous, but i have really felt that way! yet everything has always turned out okay in the end. everything works out. i want to remind myself that even if i had a tough day or if my situation seems terrible at the moment, everything will work out. "sunshine after the rain" type deal, hehe. i want to remind myself to not get so worked up, thinking things won't get better. they can, they will, they have. in fact, they pretty much always have.

6. not everyone is going to like you, and it's okay. you can be one of the nicest, kindest people and there will still be people who don't like you. why? i have no idea. maybe they don't really know you but are judging a bad first impression. maybe they're jealous of something you have going for you. maybe they're someone who was attached to an old you, and they don't like some ways you've changed. in any case, i want to remind myself to not get upset if someone doesn't like me. i want to focus on just being the best me possible, not letting any haters get to me.

7. don't compare yourself to others. everyone is great in their own ways. if you're always comparing yourself to others, you will never be happy. there will always be someone who has more, who has accomplished more, or who looks better. also, when you compare yourself to someone else, you probably focus on their unique gifts. you probably don't have all the same gifts, but you probably have some of your own that you are forgetting about. embrace your own strengths. even with common measures, the only valid comparison can really be with yourself: are you getting better over time? charles bukowski said, "my contest is only with myself."

wonderful words of wisdom!

also:

happy earth day!

until next time..

<3 alaina

celebrate you!

 

until next time..

<3 alaina

brat pt 2

so as you can see from yesterday's post, i've been feeling kind of bratty lately.

i know it is not at all uncommon for adults to act like children, but sometimes i feel like i'm the only one who wants to plop down on the floor and do some serious pouting.

i was bored and googled "at-home attitude adjustment" to see what i could do to stop feeling so crappy. surprisingly, i found this article on eHow that actually had some good tips. here's what it suggests:

1. the first tip has something to do with imagining yourself as a compass with negative forces trying to pull at you, but you have to remain on course. i think what they're getting at is to let things roll off your shoulders and not weigh you down. i definitely need to work on this! i can't let one bad thing ruin my day!

2. the world doesn't revolve around you. i mean, it should, but i guess it doesn't.

3. eliminate the negativity in your life. with the recent ending of a friendship, i think i have pretty much eliminated most of the external negativity in my life at the moment; now i just have to work on internal. the article has this great line: "negativity is like a contagious disease that can be spread from person to person." so basically negativity is like herpes. i am DEFINITELY going to avoid negativity now!

4. stay away from emotional leeches. kind of like number 3 in a sense. i think what we should be getting from this is to not be around lame people.

5. banish all negativity and bad thoughts. yes please. glass half full! glass half full!

6. adjust your attitude both at home AND at work. surprisingly, i feel the most positive when i am at work. i'm usually very productive, i work with people i consider friends, and my job gives me a lot of great responsibility.

7. you are what/how you think. a positive attitude will create a domino effect of positive thinking.

i thought the article was going to be some hokey thing that would make me be like "yeah, right" after i was done reading it. but all in all, i think the tips are good. here's to trying to be more positive!

until next time..

<3 alaina