spring

stay-cation

family, Happy Travels, I went outside, life, salt lake city, sisters, spring, staycation, Temple Square, Trax, UTA

I spent last weekend holed up in a condo downtown with 4 of the women who love me the most.  It was so refreshing to step away from the computer, turn off the phone, and focus on the people in front of me.  We laughed so hard my belly hurt.  Like four times I think.  We were the loudest table at dinner and I think that's the most fun I've ever had eating Jelly Bellys.  If only everyone in the world had a family like mine.

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The condo allowed only one car in the parking lot.  So I left mine near home and took Trax into downtown.  No complaints from me, it's one of my favorite things to do.

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Of course, I had the essentials in my bag.  Water, notebook & pen, wallet, and music.  It was a very enjoyable train ride.

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The condo was just north of Temple Square.  It's a nice place to walk through on a crisp spring morning.  I could smell the flowers, the sun was shining, and the wind was blowing.  When I say it was a crisp morning, I mean it was make-your-nose-run-chilly.

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Waiting for the shuttle Saturday morning to take K home.  We missed her Saturday night!

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CPK for dinner, Ben and Jerry's for dessert, a walk around the Gateway, and the purchase of a white summer dress.  If you haven't tried Late Night Snack ice cream go out and get some right now.  Now!  I promise it's good.  We definitely walked more than I usually do.  My legs are sore today!

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3 rounds of Bunco.  Which was also a lot of fun.

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Beautiful spring morning on Temple Square.

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The clan minus 2.  We missed you both!

We'd been planning this get away for a year or so.  It was nice for it to finally be here and bonus that we enjoyed it so much! 

ps – the best thing about eating Jelly Bellys with this group of ladies?  We don't have to fight over the coffee flavored ones.  I get all of em!

since last week

changes, dachshund, lazy, life, motivation, photography, salt lake city, spring, tired


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The last picture I took of Ellie before dropping her off at her new temporary home. I snuggled her a lot.  I surely do miss her.

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This week involved lots of down time on the couch.  just.plain.tired. These 3 days off work will certainly be nice for me.

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Saw a few really nice sunrises through dirty car windows this week.  Spring always improves my outlook.  I feel more hope, more energy, more motivation.  February and March are hard months for me.  I'm glad it's almost May.

I'm off work today, hooray!  I'll be busy crossing lots of past due items off my list so I can get going on the new list which continues to grow.  Included in that list?  Cleaning out and organizing pictures, some mending, a blog makeover (maybe?), finish my book, and some fun picture taking.  Including a run in there somewhere.

I'm determined to feel good about myself on Sunday evening instead of wondering why I even bother taking a day off if I'm not gonna do anything with it.  Time to get my butt in gear and be productive.

Changes underfoot.  And I like it.

Cheers!

M 

she likes going for walks

blizzard, dachshund, dog, fetch, she said, spring, walk, weather, wiener, wiener dog, winter

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The weather is starting to turn a bit nice.  Except for the next couple few days.  Storms coming and going as is typical for spring.  So when the weather is nice enough, and when the wind doesn't have a bite, we go for a walk.  Not a super long one, but for 15 minutes or so.  She really likes it.  Which makes me feel a bit guilty for not continuing to walk her in the middle of winter in a blizzard when it's 20 degrees out. 

Oh wait.  No I don't. 

Especially since she's caught on and enjoys a rip roaring game of fetch.  She makes a mad dash around the apartment a few times, then runs up and down the hall bringing back the squeeky giraffe before she wanders close to me and collapses on the floor next to me.  

With her short little legs, floppy ears, and wiggling tail she makes me laugh everytime.

She one of the best things to have ever happened to me.

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Cheers,

M

sprung

daffodils, Failure, hope, life, progress, release, spring, sprung, success, Utah, weather

Spring has arrived in Utah.  Finally.  How do I know?  We have a current forecast for rain 7 out of the next 10 days.   And we had some crazy wind yesterday.  So windy that a dust cloud came across the west desert and into the valley. 

Makes me glad that I don't respiratory problems, or that I'm old, and that I'm a bum and put on pajamas as soon as I walked through the door at 6:00.  Yeah, I'm that person.

The other way I know it's finally spring is the daffodils are starting to bloom.  Last week they were just green shoots.  This week they have little yellow heads on them.  I love when the daffodils bloom, it means the tulips are on their way. The bright variety of colors is the perfect way to change from dreary gray everything to blue sky, golden sun, green leaves, and beautiful shade. I'm so ready for some sunny weather.

With spring always comes a new perspective.  A fresh outlook.  New positivity to carry me from the white and chill, through the rain and wind, and to the sunshine of summer. There are certain points during the year that I look back at the last 6-12 months to remember, mourn, forgive and forget, and move the hell on.  Learn from the mistakes and move it forward.  In review, there seem to be the same recurring things I wish I was doing a bit better.  I'm thinking that this spring is the perfect time to clean them up and purge them out.  Folks, I'm moving on.

I have a notebook that I carry with me most days.  Since I'm an over thinker it helps to write down the things that are bothering me so at a more appropriate time I can return to them and sort them out.  There are pages and pages of scribbles.  I don't tear out the pages when they are full or when I've solved the issue.  I just turn to a clean page. This gives me the opportunity to flip back through and review them.

I like this for a couple reason.  1. The variety of colors makes me happy.  It's that simple. 2. Patterns emerge and it helps me to see the triggers. 3. It's a timeline of the happenings in my life.  More so than this blog.

One of the more noticeable patterns is fear.  

What am I afraid of?  Failure. The unknown. Being alone. Uncertainty.

Now, being alone I can solve for.  Being afraid of the unknown and uncertainty is irrational.  I can dismiss those two as mood issues.

But who defines failure? And how do I talk to that person to find out if I'm on a non-failure route?

There are moments in my life that I've looked failure in the face, thrown him the bird, and stepped on him to get to where I want to go.  There are moments that I'm strong enough to climb out of the darkness of failure and find the sunshine of success.

Wow, that was totally corny.

The point is, fear of failure is also irrational.  We define our own failure.  Of course, society has their opinion of what failure looks like and they will be the first to point out that you've reached it.  When you take your courage and define failure for yourself, in the process you also define your own success.  

And why am I so focused on failing anyway?  I should be focused on what success looks like.  Stop worrying about what I don't want and worry more about what I do want.  The list is waaay shorter. So while plans for the rest of the year are in motion, the wheels are turning, projects are in progress, and I'm in motion, I'm also focusing on what success looks like for me.

Not only has spring sprung, but hope has sprung too. And that is a good place to be.

Cheers.

M