Revisiting Happiness

Photo snagged from Design Stitch Go's Instagram 

It's been 11 months since I wrote about happiness and linked up with some of my very first blogger friends. On my drive into work this morning I got to thinking about this one general sentiment that's been following me around a bit lately.

People post quotes on Instagram and Pinterest and Facebook all the time, and because there are so so many of them, usually they just go in one ear and out the other for me.

But this one is sticking. I'm not sure if that's because it's something I needed to be reminded of, or something I'm noticing about others.

Summer Fun Checklist

My cousin shared this on facebook last week. I just fell in love with this list and want to (or probably will) do so much of what's on it that I had to save it on my blog so I could keep tabs on what I can check off.

It's pretty unlikely that I'll get into a silly string fight, but I will definitely go swimming, go on a hike, ride my bike, go to a museum...and many others.

My goal is just going to be to take a picture and instagram each item I do as I complete it, and maybe I'll post them up there so I have a place to refer to for everything.

Want to get in on this with me? If you're on instagram, use the hashtag #2014summerfunchecklist so we can all check in on each other's fun summer activities!

Let me know if you think you'll join in! :)

January Cure

This time last year I was diving head first into Apartment Therapy's 10 ways to be happier at home. I did periodic check-ins (week 1, week 3) through the month and even focused on it in a guest post on my friend, Alyssa's, blog.

The biggest thing I learned in my journey being happier at home was not that I will love my bedroom if the bed is made, it's about how I feel about my bed being made, how I feel about doing the dishes or the laundry or picking up around the house. If it makes me feed good or accomplished then I will be happy there, if I resent doing the dishes, no matter how sparkly clean it is, I will grumble when I walk into the room. 

Happy in Real Life

Soo... I'm back to my normal Thursday shenanigans of not planning my be happy post until the day of!

Truth is, I've been on a little bit of an emotional roller coaster lately - struggling with my own self worth and my choices. I got back from my vacation, was thrown back into the real world, and remembered that life is not a beach blanket and a good book. WHAT? I know, ridiculous. It totally should be.

I haven't even been home for a week, but I have been swamped with all the everyday life stuff and more.

I guess the be happy linkup is just what I needed though. To get me back to being thankful and full of love. Truth is, I've got so many good things going on right now. I just needed to remember.
This is kind of a lame teaser post. I'm really excited about some things that are in the works, but I'm not ready to share them with you yet. So, that's what this post is about.  There are meetings and things that need to happen before sharing.

Tehehe.

Remember this is a linkup! Be sure to follow the links and check out these other amazing ladies' happiness journeys!

Guest Post - Alyssa Bacon-Liu; Overcoming the Fear of Getting Healthy

Hey folks, I'm on a relaxing Hawaiian vacation with my family this week, so I've asked some beautiful, talented and inspiring ladies to guest post for me while I'm away. 

Alyssa Bacon-Liu is a firecracker. We met through a blog brunch almost a year ago and it was she who pushed me to join the Be Happy Link Up in the first place. I am so grateful to her for that. Alyssa writes honestly and passionately about her beliefs and truths, and the obstacles she encounters seeking all things beautiful. Her blog is real, powerful, and she always has something to say that will inspire you or make you think. 

I used to be afraid of getting healthy. That seems like an odd thing to say, doesn’t it? It’s not that I didn’t want to be healthy. I knew that I was unhappy with my poor eating habits and non-existent exercise routine. But the process of getting healthy always seemed so overwhelming. How would I possibly be able to accomplish my health goals? Where would I even start? What if I failed along the way? The farther away I got from my healthy ideal, the more scared I was to try to change things. I started to think, “What’s the point of trying to be healthy?  It will take too much time and effort.” Changing my lifestyle in order to be healthier was such a daunting task that it became paralyzing. The fear of failure kept me from pursuing the goals I needed to pursue.

I know I can’t be alone in thinking this way. Yes, I had to deal with my own fears and insecurities. But I also had to realize that we live in a quick-fix culture. We want results and we want them now.  I didn’t want to go months and months waiting to see minor changes; I wanted an amazing and instantaneous transformation. My fear of failure and my unrealistic expectations were both roadblocks to my health and happiness.

In order to overcome these roadblocks, I had to focus on one overall goal: getting healthier. To me, this doesn't mean pant size or scale weight. It’s about how I feel. A few months ago, I decided to dedicate myself to living a healthier lifestyle. I quickly realized that I feel better and have more energy when I run in the mornings. I realized that I feel confident and accomplished when I master a new move in my Zumba class. I realized I feel less sick all the time when I eat the right foods in the right portions. These are the things that really  matter. If I lose weight or drop a pant size, it’s just icing on the cake. Until then, I’m happy with the knowledge that each day I’m taking care of my body and improving my overall health.

Now, I’m not afraid of getting healthy. I look forward to being active and getting a good workout. I am so much happier now that I don’t feel sick and tired all the time from the food I’m eating. It turns out, getting healthy was in my best interest all along.


Whatever your health-related goals are, remember that you don’t have to be afraid of making the right changes in your life. Being healthy looks and feels different for every person; it’s not about living up to an impossible standard. Find what works best for you, enjoy yourself, and always know that you’re worth it.

Alyssa Bacon-Liu lives with her husband and puppy in Los Angeles. She blogs at All Things Beautiful, where she writes about marriage, faith, growing up, the pursuit of happiness, and finding the beauty in the everyday. Connect with her on Twitter or on Instagram: @alyssabaconliu. 

Eating on Vacation

This morning I was sitting at my kitchen table, enjoying my healthy low-cal breakfast, thinking to myself I didn't have some great theme to post about for the Be Happy Link Up today. Yet another week would go by without linking up with some of my favorite ladies on the web.

Then something occurred to me. I am about to go on vacation. (Yay!) ... but, as I looked down at my cottage cheese and melon, I realized, "how am I going to maintain a healthy diet in Hawaii?" and I started to stress out a little bit. I am so happy with how I feel and look right now. I don't want to go on vacation, prance around in a bikini, eat tacos and ice cream, and throw away all my hard work.

In order for me to stay happy through the trials of vacation binge eating, and still come home feeling great, I've realized that a couple of things have to happen.

1. I need to continue to eat reasonable portions of healthy food as much as I possibly can. To not succumb to the "vacation diet" as much as possible. I don't need to have french toast or eggs benedict just because I'm on vacation. I can be that girl that has oatmeal or cottage cheese. I can skip the heavy, fatty dinners in favor of something lighter. It's Hawaii, right? They serve a ton of fish. I will eat ALL THE FISH and I will love it.

and 2. I can allow myself to veer off course a little bit, and still accept and love myself. Maybe I don't need to fill my breakfast plates with pancakes and sausage and all the fat and carbs - can you tell how much I love breakfast? - but if I do it once or twice, it's not going to ruin my trip. I'm also planning on keeping up some kind of exercise routine, so  if when, I do decide I need something deep fried, it won't completely ruin my healthy day.

And that's it, isn't it? Try your best and don't beat yourself up if you don't do it perfectly. Just as in life, so it is in healthy eating. Done and done.

3 Grown Women at a Backstreet Boys Concert

For my birthday, my amazing friend bought us tickets to see the Backstreet Boys on September 4th.
I was a little apprehensive for about 5 seconds. I didn't know if they would still be any good. I thought maybe it would be a tad pathetic to watch these guys 15 years past their prime, but we decided to take the plunge. We were completely obsessed with them 15 years ago, after all.

So, my big sis joined us and the three of us had an absolutely amazing time reliving some of our fondest moments as 14 year olds.

The boys still got it. They were amazing to watch and such a blast.

When Inspiration Was Easy

When I first joined the Be Happy Link Up back in October(?) of last year, my life was so different from how it is now. Not in big ways, but definitely in all the small subtle ways. Day-to-day now is so different from day-to-day then.

Specifically when it comes to getting inspired and being thankful and present. Last October I had just started my yoga teacher training. I was getting biweekly reminders to be present and mindful, dispassionate and emit love.

Now that I am a teacher myself, not only are my days filled to the brim, but I need to be the reminder - for myself and for others. I need to look back at all the things I've learned, and remember to stop sometimes and appreciate the beauty around me. To remind my students not to compare themselves to anyone around them, not to be attached to the outcome, and to love, always.

Healthy Eyes

Before my sister's wedding over 3 years ago, I thought I had a sty. It turned out to be a clogged oil duct and after weeks of hot compresses, ointment, no contacts, no makeup and no change, I gave up.

Begrudgingly wearing my glasses to big sister's bridal shower, May 2010

I put my contacts back in and my mascara back on and I accepted that I would have this weird bump on my lower lid for the duration. And I did nothing for just shy of 3 years - during which time, I got married and you barely barely see the tiny bump on my lower lid in any of my wedding pictures.

If you look closely at my lower left lid, it's right in the middle. 

... Then another one showed up. This one was in the outer corner of my eye.

Eat Breakfast

Way back, when I joined this crazy group of ladies to link up and be happy, I wrote this post. It's about getting up early and having a leisurely breakfast in the morning.

It made me happier. It really did. I makes me happier, because, yes, I am still getting up early enough to have a calm, relaxing, rejuvenating, wakeful breakfast at my kitchen table. This morning I had a bagel, if you must know.

I pay bills. I read my daily Skimm emails, which I was reading way before Joy the Baker talked about getting her daily scoop alongside waffles, by the by. I can't help if I'm less popular than she is. Not important. In the mornings, I breathe. I wake up and I sip my coffee as the dog sniffs around. Sometimes I glug my coffee, but it's still down right leisurely.

This whole time I'm thinking it's the leisure that makes my mornings happier. I still think that's true, but I talked to a nurse the other day and she told me that 9 times out of 10 when she asks folks if they had breakfast that morning, they say no, and in general, the 10 percent of people who do actually eat breakfast are in significantly better moods when they see her in the morning than folks that skipped breakfast.

Pretty interesting, huh? The simple act of just eating breakfast may have been making me happier.

Though I certainly think the leisure helped too.

Ventinove; On Being a Big Kid @ Almost 29

30 seconds ago I realized my birthday is the day after tomorrow. Every day its a shock that its a whole day closer.

29 isn't a big deal. There's not a huge difference between 28 and 29, really.
So, my birthday is on Saturday and last night my husband asked me how it feels to be 29.

Ok, first, if we're going to get nitpicky, TECHNICALLY I am not 29 yet, but on a very real level I feel the same as I felt the last 3 or 4 months - like I'm in my late late 20's - and at the same time, I'm still very much a kid.

Earlier this week, I was looking at fancy restaurants trying to pick the one I wanted to go to to celebrate my big day (as a grown up), and I kept getting frustrated. Don't get me wrong, I love me some fancy meals. The lavender goat cheese with honey at Church & State downtown may be one of my favorite foods on the planet ever, but the more restaurants I looked at, the less I felt like celebrating.

Then my husband gave me an ultimatum. I pick one soon and be happy about it, or we were going bowling for my birthday.

and I was so relieved!

I felt like I'm an adult, so I have to have an adult birthday. My response to that is SHUT UP! I want to play!

And that's exactly what I'm going to do. Cocktails, mozzarella sticks, dancing around to loud top 40, and bowling.

Happy birthday to me!

This is a linkup. Make sure to follow the links to some amazing ladies' journeys to everyday happiness.

Make It Happen

Every week in the be happy link up, I am so inspired. I am inspired by all of these wonderful women and what they're doing to take control of their lives and be as happy as possible.
Thus far, for me, it hasn't really been about taking initiative. Since my default is to err towards anxiety, the struggle for me has been to just be happy how I am no matter what. Love life and emit love.

I didn't even really realize that I was doing things to make myself happier. I was taking initiative and making things happen - rather than just letting things happen to me and being disappointed with the outcome. How naive of me to have lived that way for so long.

But here I am, days away from my 29th birthday, taking some control of my life. Finally doing what makes me happy because I decided I wanted to and I made it happen.

Celebrate!

Just a quick note to wish you all a very happy and joyous Independence Day! Enjoy the fireworks and barbecues and time with your families! 

Maybe take a few moments and remember what this day is all about. Maybe agree to watching the historically inaccurate Patriot because it's your hubby's favorite movie. Maybe not. ;)

Happy 4th, y'all!!!

And So I Golf

Semi-philosophical and heavy on the sap, but bear with me...

Hubs and I don't have a lot in common. I was never into sports growing up. I played soccer, so watching soccer was fun, but all the others were no bueno. He loves ALL (except soccer, oddly)
I was never into martial arts. He frequently mentions going back for a second black belt.
I think golf is boring (especially when its on TV - I mean UGH). He could spend all day on the course with friends.
I love art. I love making it and I love looking at it. He yawns at art.
I am (obviously) a hardcore yogi. It's torture for him.
I like to "go outside and do stuff". He likes to be comfy at home.

So, this is where I am right now. None of these things bother me. We are who we are and we are best friends.

I will happily give up an afternoon relaxing by the pool with a cocktail because he wants me to golf with him. Even though, man, golf is really... really not my thing. But I will have moments like the above because I'm hanging out with my best friend.

So, duh, we're married folks and we make compromises. I go golfing with him, he goes to the Getty and LACMA with me. I watch baseball and college football now (but please turn the basketball off) and he agrees to be my yoga guinea pig to help me build new classes.

And they start to not feel like compromises. Look at me up there having a freaking ball because I hit the ball across the water for the very first time... because I'm hanging out with my best friend.

So, here's to a summer - hopefully -  filled with doing things that make the other happy and being dang happy about it.

Freakonomics & Happiness

Husband & I @ College Graduation

Over the last 6 months or so, I've become a pretty hardcore podcast listener. A while ago, I listened to one done by the Freakonomics Podcast called Women are Not Men and - being the feminist that I am - it really struck a chord with me. It was in no way sexist (in my opinion), it simply looked into the ways men and women are different. One part in particular left me wanting more - beginning at around the 26 minute mark - exploring women's happiness.

They looked at two studies - one done 40 years ago and one now - looking at reported levels of happiness of men and of women.

What they found was surprising...

In 1970, women reported higher levels of life satisfaction than men, and today men report higher levels of life satisfaction than women. 

My Life In Yoga

There has been a lot happening in my yoga life lately. So much so that it only seemed appropriate to use this Thursday's Be Happy post to talk about it.

First of all, I have been so blessed to have the opportunity to sub in some amazing classes over the last couple of weeks. I am so grateful to have had these opportunities and it looks like they'll be continuing for a little while since I have a Memorial Day lunchtime class planned and I am slated to sub a 6am restorative class twice a week for 5 weeks. If you're in the West SF Valley area and looking for some yoga, it would be great to see your beautiful faces.

Next, last weekend I completed my certificate to teach Postnatal and Mommy/Baby yoga. Above is the picture of our graduating class. I'm so happy and proud to have been a part of this group of incredible ladies. I am also so so so excited to start teaching mommies and babies. I already reached out to some of my mommy friends on facebook and have gotten a really good response!
This was also kind of the catalyst for me to decide to register for Yoga Alliance. I already started the process, but I need to upload copies of all my certificates.

And finally, I've been working on challenging myself more during my at-home solo practice - pushing myself beyond what I teach my beginners so that I can create a challenging class for all of my potential students - and last night I had an amazing solo practice. Around and hour and 5 minutes with a little bit of everything. I did a shortened savasana, but my forward folds at the end kind of got me the mental break I needed.  It was really great, and I can't wait to continue to improve in my own practice and take my experiences into my classes.

Join the linkup!

One Mile an Hour

Yesterday it took me a full hour to drive one mile. I wish it were one of those instances when I could have just walked, but unfortunately, I had to get myself and my car all the way back to the Valley after this one mile at 3pm. At one point to combat getting cut off, I let my car get so close to the one in front of me, I quite literally had a mini panic attack that if I lifted my foot up off the break even a centimeter, I would hit them.

I had all these thoughts while I was sitting there in my car; why didn't I just stay near the dentist and have some late lunch? I could have gone shopping and leisurely walked around World Market, or maybe found an alternate route down to Culver City so I could have dinner with my husband after he got off work.

But I kept coming back to the same thing. "No point in imagining the what-ifs. I am here now. There is no getting out of it..."

Seriously, no way out. I was stuck. 

And just as I was thinking that, an ad came on the radio - which up until that point had been going straight in one ear and out the other. I couldn't even enjoy my favorite songs. - Some local news channel was going to monitor one woman's heart rate/vitals during her daily commute to see how the stress of driving in LA impacted her health. 

And there I was sitting in my car, heart beating so hard in my chest I thought for sure you could see it, and I remembered that I have more control that I was allowing myself. 

After unfurrowing my brow (it's a daily battle against aging), I took a slow intentional inhale - felt the air enter and fill my entire body - followed it up with an easy relaxing exhale, and repeated. 

With each slow and intentional breath, I could actually feel my heart beat slow. It stopped pounding with such ferocity and settled back into my chest. 

I was almost on the freeway now. With each lane that merged with ours, traffic moved a little bit faster. Once I was actually on the freeway, I was home in less than half an hour. 

I know I've talked about the power of breath before - how in our most stressful times, we can take a mental step backwards, shut off our brains for a moment and revitalize ourselves with breath, but yesterday was one of the purest reminders of that. Even when we feel totally out of control, we can bring ourselves back to center. 

Applying What I Learned

Yesterday was one of those days - when the crumbs left on the kitchen counter are more than a mere annoyance and the smallest thing is interpreted as a personal attack. From the moment I woke up yesterday morning until right around 6pm, it was just one thing after another. I would finally start to feel better about one thing and then a whole new problem would arise.

I was battling my self worth all day. It sucked.

But I had agreed to sub, not one, but two classes yesterday, so I knew I had to buck up, breathe through it, and get these people the amazing yoga classes they paid for.

It took some work, but I breathed through it, shook it off and when it was time to teach my first class at 4, I felt ready.
Class did not go perfectly. It was my first time teaching Power Yoga - a 90 minute class as opposed to the 60 minute classes I usually teach - and though I tried not to let it show (I didn't want my students to feel like they were being taught by a novice), I definitely had some rocky points. At times I felt like I was floundering, fumbling and flustered. Though I like to think I put on a good face, it was rough, and I left class wondering why I was a yoga teacher. I was crushed. My confidence was just not there.
Looking back, I knew what I could have done differently to make it a better class, but all I could do was accept it and move forward.

Lucky for me, I had another chance. My second class of the day could go one of two ways, 1) a repeat of my first class that day - no bueno, or 2) I could take what I learned, apply it to my second class, and give these people the kind of class I wish I'd taught earlier that afternoon.

I had been under so much (self induced) stress, I knew I needed two things - food... and yoga. I spent the next hour thinking about the class I wanted to take - the stretching and poses I wished I had time to give to myself - and when 745 rolled around, the words just flowed out of me without a second thought. I was confident, I didn't second guess myself, and I was happy to be a yoga teacher.

The candle light and my largest class to date certainly didn't hurt.

You Call Yourself a Writer

This is weird.

I am a writer. No one pays me to do it. I don't even have the confidence to try and deal with blog sponsorship, but I am a writer nonetheless.

I don't know why I decided to listen to this podcast on my way to work this morning. I'm not thinking of writing a book anytime soon, but this morning I realized that I'm a writer.

Because every day when I sit down to put together a post for this blog, I am pondering, I am channeling my creative juices, and I am writing.

Whether or not you like what I have to say or agree with me... it doesn't matter. It doesn't even seem to matter whether anyone reads what I write at all.

I write, therefore I am a writer.

Neat.

It's an itty bitty be happy post today. :) Check out these other amazing ladies' journeys through the linkup!

One Line a Day

Well, y'all, I've been doing it. For just about two weeks I've been writing one little blurb each day. Things I'm thankful for, things I did that day, something that happened. It's been pretty amazing so far. 

We talked a little bit about how having those little blurbs to look back on in tougher moments would help me see the light in things, but we didn't really talk about how it would help each day. 

Even on nights I'm in a crummy mood, I'll write, "I'm in a crummy mood, but I am thankful for..." and thinking about that wonderful thing would make me just a little bit happier. 

We didn't really talk about how taking a moment to be positive right before bed would help me sleep better, and then, wake up better. 

I've had a couple of nights when as I crawled into bed I thought, "Ugh, I am so cranky, how can I write about something positive right now?" and I had one night when I didn't want to think about the positive things, but I managed and I look back at that day and I am so glad I did. 

Remember this is a linkup! Follow along on these other amazing ladies happiness journeys.