11/10/201511/10/2015 DianaK

Appreciations 4.82

Another beautiful day for walks with Sammy. Today we hung out at his house instead of mine. He seemed much more content. I’m pretty sure my cats liked it better, too… 😉

All the sensations of being outside today: the sight of beautiful blue skies and skeleton trees, leaves twisting through the air; the smell of dry leaves and someone’s last barbeque of the year; the warmth of the sun in contrast with the brisk wind; the sounds of leaves rustling as we waded through them. Mmmmm.

Seeing the kitties both on my bed at the same time when I got home. This never happens! Maybe they are at long last reaching an understanding!

Learning to let go of things, despite my genetic predisposition to stubbornness. I love the idea of #100happydays and it was fun to add it in to my appreciation practice for awhile (well, 23 days), but since its goal is to help develop a gratitude practice (which I THINK I might just have down after 3+ years…) and since I often forget to take photos, I’m going to let it go. See all that growing and changing I’m doing?!? 😉

11/09/201511/09/2015 DianaK

Appreciations 4.81

First day of Sammy daycare week. What a sweet little pup. 🙂 It’s hard to believe it’s been more than 2 years since we said goodbye to Gracie. Kinda nice to have a dog around again. ❤

Gorgeous weather. Perfect for walking Sammy. 😀

Looking forward to another fun night of singing with the Earthtones. Yay!

11/08/2015 DianaK

Appreciations 4.80

Sunshine and mild weather. I will take it as long as we can get it!

Working on fun little projects and taskies. I decided not to work on work today (what!?!) and instead did entertaining and satisfying things like adding new themes to firefox, gmail, and chrome. I also did more clean-up work on files – this time it was my google drive files (have hundreds of them). It’s so fun to get rid of unneeded stuff. Plus, I got winter stuff out and sorted through that and did a few more little cleaning projects, too. Things feel lighter and lighter. I love it. ❤

Getting to spend time with Katie again this morning. That’s 3 or 4 times this week. What a treat!

Finally getting time to write out the lyrics for some Earthtones songs. It’s an important step for me in memorizing songs in other languages. With our first show coming up in a few weeks, it was high time I got to this!

11/07/201511/07/2015 DianaK

Appreciations 4.79

Writing a testimonial for someone I appreciate, like, and admire. What a lovely opportunity to reflect on the best qualities of that person!

Remember that thing about me wanting to find fun in as many situations as possible? Well, it turns out that the impound lot is one of those places it really does take some determination — especially when you’re there for the 2nd time in 3 days! 😛

Today while we were waiting and hoping that the jump start would work so Cina could get her car out of the lot (yes, this is still from the street cleaning this week and no, the jump start didn’t do the trick), I was standing outside feeling cold and a looking for something fun and distracting, so I decided to use my feet to round up nearby rocks and make a smiley face in the parking lot.

Shortly, a security guy drove over and told me I needed to be over near my car, so I pointed to the ground and told him I was just making a smiley face. He laughed and looked a little confused, so I told him about my appreciation journal and looking for something fun at the impound lot. He sort of grinned at me and said yes, it was okay to take a photo before I went back over to the car. So that was fun! I wonder what effect it had on him!?! Hahaha!

Even though the day didn’t really go the way we’d planned, Katie and Cina and I did get to hang out a lot (mostly AT the lot – hahaha), but then we had dinner and watched a movie together, so it was a really nice day in the end.

11/06/2015 DianaK

Appreciations 4.78

Sleep! Wow, the difference between 6 hours and close to 7 hours of sleep is truly amazing. I am going to stick with my new sleep-promoting habits if this is the result! 😀

Lovely coffee and chat with Laura today! Ever time I see her or Jeff, my brain still boggles a little that they’ve moved/are moving nearby – you know, like in the same state. 😉 Fun afternoon!

My cleaned up desk top. I love how satisfying all these little tidying projects are!

11/05/2015 DianaK

Appreciations 4.76

Still noodling about ideas Pam and I talked about yesterday. I love how we manage to laugh uproariously and talk about things that make me curious and thoughtful all in one sitting!

Practicing what I “preach.” Pam and I talked at length yesterday about how much attitude, intention, and point of view affect our experiences. We both agree that it is possible to find fun in almost any situation. Sometimes it’s easy. Sometimes, you really gotta want to have fun and work for it!

Today I got to put that theory to the test at the impound lot, picking up my car. (I was bleary-eyed tired yesterday and somehow didn’t see the signs for street cleaning…even though I’ve been looking for them and expecting them any day…) After waiting in line for about 20 minutes, and knowing I’d be in line at least another 20 minutes, I was feeling very cranky, dizzy, and tired.

I decided I would rather be having fun and started wondering how I could manage that. Other folks in line were either engaged in conversation with their companions, or looked as cranky as I felt. After another couple minutes, a third window opened up, and I did a little jump and said, “Yay!” This made the guy in front of me turn around and smile, which was enough invitation for me to ask him if they “got” him on street cleaning, too. (Yes.) We ended up having a nice consoling chat, learning a little about each other, and even rode the service van out to the parking lot together to pick up our cars. So there you go. That part was fun. 😀

My car. Oh, I really, really, really like having it back!

Pat for taking time out of his day to drive me down to the impound lot.

More doodly doodles. They are an easy kind of fun. 🙂

11/04/201511/04/2015 DianaK

Appreciations 4.76

The still radiant sparks of color. I especially love how they stand out in contrast to the already browning leaves. I’m continually amazed by how intensely pleasing I find my environment all year round. I seem to find something gorgeous is around every corner. 😀

Daily doodles! Okay, well, right now they are just occasional doodles, but I will work them in to daily doodles! Today was a double-duty doodle day because Pam and I did more doodles for Jenn during Pam’s Infusion of Radiant Elixir of Life!

Spending time with Pamela at the Masonic Center. Wow, did that time fly by! We chatted and laughed and doodled, and talked and joked with the lovely staff there. Then Pam treated me to a delicious dinner at the Neighborhood Cafe. Oh, and how much do I love that Pam knows that it is a 40-second walk from her house!?! So much. We birds of a feather do flock together! OH! Birds! We got to see the rafter (or gang) of wild turkeys, too! What a fun drive along the river!!

When I spend time with Pam I come away feeling lighter, brighter, wiser, happier, and deeply satisfied. My life is such a rich tapestry of beautiful, inspiring, amazing people. I love that. ❤

11/03/201511/03/2015 DianaK

Appreciations 4.75

My glasses. Being without them for half a day (since I forgot them in the choir practice room last night) made me realize how much I really, really appreciate being able to see most of the time! 😎

Unbelievably beautiful weather and time enough to take a walk today. What gorgeous colors!

Another amazing collaborative work day with Amy and Alison. I love our work days. ❤

11/02/201511/02/2015 DianaK

Appreciations 4.74

Finishing work in time to get out for a quick walk before the sun went down all the way!

November weather that allows me to go for a walk at 5 pm wearing a skirt and sweater. Okay, I was a little chilly since the sun was setting, but still. Pretty nifty weather! 🙂

The still beautiful colors of the leaves. This extended version of fall sure has been amazing! Off to sing with the lovely ladies of the Earthtones. Great way to end a Monday!!

11/01/201511/01/2015 DianaK

Appreciations 4.73

An extra hour today! I used it for sleeping! Wheeeee!

Setting mini-goals to help me reach the bigger goals. This week’s goal: get 7 or more hours of sleep at least 3 times. May not sound like much, but I rarely get 7 hours of sleep — and feel so great when I do and I know it’s better for my little heart. 🙂

The blissful discovery that all of my socks came back from the laundromat with me! For a few minutes, one sneaky sock tried to stow away in Mckenzie’s sweatshirt. I know she was hoping to travel to faraway lands (downstairs) and have some adventures (going to the U), but we caught her. Not that I’m trying to squelch her adventurous spirit… I’ll take her to some faraway lands (like the grocery store and library) so she can have adventures. I just really, really like my stripey socks to stay together.