positivity

holiday wish meme 2014.

Magic Kingdom Christmas

For the 2014 holiday season, I have so much to be excited about and thankful for!

– My awesome Aidan. He’s now eleven years old, in sixth grade, and absolutely the best little boy ever. EVER.
– My family.
– All the cool stuff I got to do this year! Acting classes, TV shows, movies, and more.
– The neat places I got to visit this year: Los Angeles, New Orleans, Jekyll Island, Disney World.
– My work study opportunity at Moksha Yoga. It’s still awesome.
– My friends, old and new!
– The abundance and blessings that have been and keep being rained down on us.

It’s now time for the Holiday Wishes meme. I started doing this in 2006, and I encourage you guys to do it as well.

Step One
– Make a post (public, locked, filtered…whatever you’re comfortable with) to your LJ/blog. The post should contain your list of up to 10 holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple and fun (“I’d love a Doctor Who icon that’s just for me”) to medium (“I wish for _____ on DVD”) to really big (“All I want for Christmas is a new car/computer/house/TV.”) The important thing is to make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.
– If you wish for real possible things, make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it’s your address or just your email address where Santa (or one of his elves) could get in touch with you.
– Also, make sure you post some version of these guidelines in your entry, or link to this post (it’ll be public) so that the holiday joy will spread.

Step Two
– Surf around to see who has posted their list. And now here’s the important part: If you see a wish you can grant, and it’s in your heart to do so, make someone’s wish come true. Sometimes someone’s trash is another’s treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don’t want or a gift certificate you won’t use—or even know where you could get someone’s dream purebred Basset Hound for free—do it.
– You needn’t spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn’t to put people out, it’s to provide everyone a chance to be someone else’s holiday elf—to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not—it’s your call.

There are no rules with this project, no guarantees, and no strings attached. Just…wish, and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you’ll have the joy of knowing you made someone’s holiday special.

With that said, here are my wishes for 2014.

1. A gift card, or for you to make donations to, DonorsChoose.org. DonorsChoose focuses on education. Teachers ask for classroom project materials. We donate. The kids learn. Most of these schools are high poverty, and the teachers are already doing all they can. Any amount is welcome.

2. Donations to Paws Chicago, the shelter where we got Helena. It’s a cage-free, no-kill shelter, and they are run completely on donations; they receive no city, state, or federal funding. It’s a great place. A shelter situation is stressful for the animals involved, and every animal I came in contact with there was happy and friendly. They have an extensive screening process to make sure you’re aware of your decision and commitment, and if somehow things don’t work out, the animal always has a home at PAWS.

3. Anything from my Amazon wish list. BUY ME ALL THE THINGS I mean wait what?

4. Gift cards to bookstores. I love bookstores. And books. But you already know that.

5. I also wouldn’t mind gift cards to Old Navy, Nordstrom Rack, Target, or Kohl’s.

The things that I’d like your prayers/happy energy for:

1. My mom to be as healthy as possible and to live a long time.

2. My friends and family to be happy, healthy, comfortable, and secure.

3. Myself to be happy, healthy, comfortable, and secure.

It’s December now, the holiday and giving season really is here! YAY!

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Holiday Wish Meme 2013

postcard copy

I realize I am late this year with this, so I probably won’t get any wishes granted. Ha. I’m not sure where my mind was on December 1, but whatever. I think it’s because Thanksgiving was so late, and Christmas is sneaking up on us so quickly! I can’t believe it’s just over a week from today. Aidan arrives tomorrow. I still have so much to do!

For the 2013 holiday season, I have so much to be excited about and thankful for!

– My awesome Aidan. He’s now ten years old, in fifth grade, and absolutely the best little boy ever. EVER.
– My husband. It’s amazing to have someone so supportive of of the fact that I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. (Wait til you learn what I’m going to be up to in 2014!)
– My families. All of them.
– Being able to take my mommy to Disney World. That trip was the most awesome trip ever!
New York City and Central Park. Yes.
– My work study opportunity at Moksha Yoga. It’s still awesome.
– My community at Moksha Yoga. Such love and abundance there.
– I got to be an extra in a major motion picture. Eeek!
– My friends, old and new! So blessed to have their love and support as I chase my dreams.
– My Plurk crew. They are hilarious and fun. Love them!
– The abundance and blessings that have been and keep being rained down on us.


It’s now time for the Holiday Wishes Meme. I started doing this in 2006, and I encourage you guys to do it as well.

Step One
– Make a post (public, locked, filtered…whatever you’re comfortable with) to your LJ/blog. The post should contain your list of up to 10 holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple and fun (“I’d love a Doctor Who icon that’s just for me”) to medium (“I wish for _____ on DVD”) to really big (“All I want for Christmas is a new car/computer/house/TV.”) The important thing is to make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.
– If you wish for real possible things, make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it’s your address or just your email address where Santa (or one of his elves) could get in touch with you.
– Also, make sure you post some version of these guidelines in your entry, or link to this post (it’ll be public) so that the holiday joy will spread.

Step Two
– Surf around to see who has posted their list. And now here’s the important part: If you see a wish you can grant, and it’s in your heart to do so, make someone’s wish come true. Sometimes someone’s trash is another’s treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don’t want or a gift certificate you won’t use—or even know where you could get someone’s dream purebred Basset Hound for free—do it.
– You needn’t spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn’t to put people out, it’s to provide everyone a chance to be someone else’s holiday elf—to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not—it’s your call.

There are no rules with this project, no guarantees, and no strings attached. Just…wish, and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you’ll have the joy of knowing you made someone’s holiday special.

With that said, here are my wishes for 2013.

1. A gift card, or for you to make donations to, DonorsChoose.org. DonorsChoose focuses on education. Teachers ask for classroom project materials. We donate. The kids learn. Most of these schools are high poverty, and the teachers are already doing all they can. Any amount is welcome.

2. Donations to Paws Chicago, the shelter where we got Helena. It’s a cage-free, no-kill shelter, and they are run completely on donations; they receive no city, state, or federal funding. It’s a great place. A shelter situation is stressful for the animals involved, and every animal I came in contact with there was happy and friendly. They have an extensive screening process to make sure you’re aware of your decision and commitment, and if somehow things don’t work out, the animal always has a home at PAWS.

3. Anything from my Amazon wish list. BUY ME ALL THE THINGS I mean wait what?

4. Gift cards to bookstores. I love bookstores. And books. But you already know that.

5. I also wouldn’t mind gift cards to Old Navy, Nordstrom Rack, Target, or Kohl’s.

The things that I’d like your prayers/happy energy for:

1. My mom to be as healthy as possible and to live a long time.

2. My friends and family to be happy, healthy, comfortable, and secure.

3. Myself to be happy, healthy, comfortable, and secure.

It’s December now, the holiday and giving season really is here! YAY!

2 Comments

loving these days.

October Rainbow

“…positivity is not about being soft, it’s about being smart. you suckers.”–donnie wahlberg

This quote:

If not me, who?
If not now, when?

Seriously, though. Why do I procrastinate so much? I need to keep this quote in the forefront of my mind. Carpe Diem. Seize the day. Make it count. And all that stuff. I also need to actually FOLLOW it. You should see the things that go through my mind at night. Then the daylight comes and I’m like ZzzZzzZZZzzZZ.

But this week will be the week to change things. They’re doing construction in the neighborhood again, which means pounding and banging for eight hours, starting at 8 or 9am. Which I think should be against the law. Hammers should NEVER be allowed out before 10am. But that’ll keep me from sleeping all day and being up all night… MAYBE. 🙂

These sweaters from Old Navy:

Screen Shot 2013-09-13 at 10.39.55 PM Screen Shot 2013-10-07 at 11.52.54 PM

They’re so cute and soft and fun to wear! I love them both with skinny jeans, boots, and a denim jacket.

This perfume from Gap:

gapstay It smells really light and fresh, like I stepped right out of the shower. I also like their perfume called “Close.” I’m very sensitive to scent, and some perfumes are just too much. Like, I know it’s supposed to be the rich person’s scent and all, but I cannot do perfumes like Chanel No. 5 or anything that smells close to that. And most of the celebrity-endorsed scents just do not work well with my nose. I’m also not a huge fan of the staple scents like CKOne or things like that. Give me light, floral or musky, and clean and fresh.

My tan “Queen” boots from wantedshoes.com.

tan

They sometimes have three colors: black, dark brown, and the aforementioned tan. (Right now, they only have the black ones in stock.) I happen to own all three colors because I love this style of boot so much. But when I got the tan ones, I really wondered when the hell I’d wear them because I wasn’t used to such light colored boots. But they’ve been a godsend this autumn, going with everything and looking great! I’ll wear the black ones and the dark brown ones later in the season and in the winter, but the tan ones are awesome for the fall.

The other colors:

black brown

My Bongo messenger bag:

Screen Shot 2013-10-08 at 12.24.24 AM

I got it 50% off, and yes, it’s faux leather but I don’t care it’s sooo cute and autumny and roomy. I can fit my wallet, camera, phone, a notebook, my iPad, and a bottle of water in the thing. I love that.

Other things I love…..

The massive amount of books I’ve been buying lately. I bought a bunch of books when we were in Ohio and had stopped in a Barnes & Noble. Most of them were for my mom, but I got some for myself as well. (I also broke down and bought the dang membership because I spend enough there anyway, and with all the discounts I got that day, the membership ended up costing me $5.)Last week, we went to Half-Price Books where I went crazy in the clearance section for both books and CDs. I left with two bags bursting with stuff for under $30, including some Gossip Girl novels, which are SUCH a guilty pleasure. I don’t know about you all, but I feel so much for the Blair in the books. I think she is my favorite. Monday, Adam and I went to Anderson’s Bookshop (best bookstore EVER) and I got two new books. So I have a load of books to read and they’re all stacked by my bed waiting for me to happily devour them.

How cute Adam looks in the fall. 🙂 Now that the weather is cooling down, he’s stopped being quite as cranky. He loves the fall and all the pumpkin stuff, and the fall colors look really good on him.

What are YOU loving these days?

8 Comments

Blue Monday? Nah, I Don’t Think So.

Snowy Day in Chicago

So, according to various sources, Blue Monday falls on … well, today. January 21, 2013. The holiday bills are coming due. People are typically starting to break their New Year’s resolutions. The weather is miserable and there’s really nothing to look forward to for months. The holidays are pretty much packed away.

Someone like me, who is prone to melancholy, especially this time of year, can see it for sure. But I don’t think it’s always the case for me. For example, last year, I didn’t post about being sad. I posted about theatre. And I don’t think it will be that depressing for me this year either. For one, I don’t have any holiday bills. I paid for everything with cash. The weather is miserable (the high is supposed to be a whopping 14F today) but I don’t have to go anywhere. The work I have to do can be done from under a warm electric blanket. I didn’t make any resolutions so I don’t have to feel bad about breaking them. I have a Disney World trip to look forward to (35 days!!!), and I have a lot to be thankful for.

1. My Gratitude Buddy Wanda. She emailed me this idea that we send each other three things every day that we’re grateful for. They can be small or big things, but they’re things that we’re happy to have in our lives. She’s much better at keeping up with it than I am, but every time she sends me one, I remember to send mine back to her. I’m grateful that it’s often hard to decide WHICH three things to put.

2. Friends who automatically think of me when they want to plan trips to Disney World. I love helping my friends plan Disney trips almost as much as I love planning my own. 🙂

3. The kirtan I got to manage and attend Saturday night. OH MY GOD. Rich Logan is a force. The kirtan was packed–I had never seen Moksha so packed for a kirtan before. The songs and chants are still running through my head and my spirit. It was amazing. I cannot WAIT for his next one.

4. The new music I have been discovering and the old music I have been rediscovering. Like the song 7 by Prince. I bought the maxi-single to that years ago. Anyone remember maxi-singles? But yeah. That song is so good.

5. My yoga teacher training is all paid off! Now I just need to finish up my non-contact stuff and my apprenticeship so I can get my certification. Only a few months to go!

So… I’m going to go burrow under the warm electric blanket (turned up on high) and let the space heater blow on me until I get warm. I’m wearing cozy sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt, but it’s one of those days where the bitterness just seeps through all the cracks. I have a new book to read, some cats to cuddle, and hot things to drink.

And that’s all for now folks. Til next time!

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Best December Ever

Sitting here, listening to my *Best Christmas* playlist and thinking about decorating/wrapping presents/addressing Christmas cards but really not doing any of that. 🙂

We’re five days into December and it’s already pretty awesome. We’ve had really mild temperatures (which I am loving). December 1 kicked off with the Moksha Yoga holiday party.

Moksha's Holiday Tree
moksha’s “tree”

Amber doing Wheel w/Leg Up!
amber dazzling us with a really hard pose

LOVE!!!!
friends
i love these folks
reshma, julie, me, graham

Sunday, I started off the day with brunch with Reshma, then that evening, I headed out to King Spa for a night of relaxation and pampering. I LOVE King Spa. $25 admission gets you access to so much. Then you can spring for extras like massages and facials and body scrubs. The best part is that it’s 24/7, so I can go anytime I get the urge!

Monday was another brunch date, this time with Jen. Adam and I headed out that evening to see the zoo lights, not realizing that they only turn them on during the weekends. Honestly, I’m not sure of their thinking. The lights are on only weekends leading up to Christmas, then after Christmas, they’re on every day for two weeks. WHAT? Only Chicago. Always doing stuff that MAKES NO SENSE whatsoever. *shakes head*

I was pretty disappointed, so we went to Molly’s Cupcakes for a consolation prize. I got the Mint Velvet cupcake.

upload
how jealous of this are you?

Tuesday, Adam and I headed out to Naperville for shopping, where I scored tons of this awesomeness:

Score!!! 12 boxes at Big Lots and I bought them ALL.
yes i am a snack hoarder why do you ask?

Then we headed to a Heather Dale show, consisting of traditional Yule carols. Oh, her voice is pure and sweet. And she can play so many instruments. She was a joy to watch and listen to. (And you can listen yourself if you go to her site and download her free album!) We got to experience beautiful singing and music, talk to cool people, and HUG A S00J!!!

Love!! @adamselzer @s00j
s00j, me, adam
YAY s00j!!!!!!

Untitled
sj tucker and heather dale making beautiful music

Untitled
sj tucker and heather dale making more beautiful music

It was a lovely night. 🙂

And randomly…I like seeing people’s trees in their windows, and I like the trees that are up in the stores. They look really pretty this year. I am not sure when I will put my tree up. Maybe this weekend. I haven’t even decided if I’m going to go for the Disney theme again or just do a generic theme like I’ve done in the past, or a combination of both. I sometimes wish we had room for a 7- or 8-foot tree so I could have room for all my ornaments, but my 6-foot is OK. I once had a huge tree and the bottom half was bare because of cats and toddler Aidan. See?

Aidan's First Christmas
my tree in 2003.
notice how bare the bottom is? lol.

So…our three cats tend to leave the tree alone for the most part. Crookshanks likes to lie under it and sleep, and Helena will nibble the branches and ignore the little tree I set out for her to enjoy, but once I get the gifts underneath, they tend to leave it alone. 🙂

There’s still a ton to look forward to this month. Two birthdays, Solstice, Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, shopping, music, family, friends, food, decorating, cookies, the 24 hour A Christmas Story marathon, and more! YAY Best December ever! 😀

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