The Last 24 hours

This morning, as I was waiting for our work server to boot back up, I watched a video a friend had posted about positivity.  It was an awesome video, and the presenter was hilarious, so I definitely recommend you taking a look (and no - this isn't a 40 minute Ted Talk, it's quite short in comparison)  Check it out Here

The Main ideas about this video are basically this:

•  3 Gratitude's (Write down 3 new things you are grateful for every day for 21 days. Your brain begins to write a pattern to see the world more positively)

• Journaling (About one positive experience you have had over the last 24 hrs teaches your brain to re-live these moments, and thus you experience the joy over again) 

• Exercise (Teaches your brain that behavior matters) 

• Meditation (Detaches you from multi-tasking. Increases your focus on the task at hand) 

• Random Acts of Kindness (1 positive email thanking somebody in your social support network)

Now I'm a strong believer of Mind over Matter, and Positive thinking as a means of adjusting your environment for the better, so I loved these ideas.  And thus, here is my "Positive Experience Journal Entry"

Only I'm going to cheat a little, the article says to blog about 1 positive thing, but I'm kind of an over achiever, so I'm going to blog about any and all things that made me happy in the last 24 hours - memory permitting of course.  Enjoy!  (Or don't - whatever makes you happier... do that)



First of all, this video.  I love Seinfield in his all his ridiculousness, and I was happy to see him again:

 Next off, this song:

I heard this song last week at my Pump and Groove class, but only remembered to ask Jessica what it was the other day, and I bought it for myself yesterday... and consequently I have listened to it 10 times in the last 24 hours (truth be told, I'm listening to it on repeat as I write this blog post).  It makes me want to move, and that makes me smile :) I've already added it to my Run Playlist on my iPod, and I see a lot of awesome runs in my future being propelled by this song.  Also, I have a little soft spot for Lil Jon - WHAT?!?!  YEAH!!!  OKAY!!!

Last night Ben and I tried something new, and baked up a stuffed pork tenderloin, it was tasty, and I always enjoy when we take the time to make an awesome epic meal together

We also watched E.T.  A movie I have not watched since I was 4 years old!!  I loved it, and I loved how many Star Wars references were in it too!!

Then Ben and I went for a long walk, and decided to take the bridge behind our house to try a new path, and since our back gate was frozen to the ground, we used the Garage Door to get out to the alley.  Ben decided to push the button for the garage door and then run under it as it was closing.  So I helped him out by singing the Indiana Jones Theme Song at the top of my lungs.  Our neighbors either think we're amusing or deranged.  I'm content with the choice they choose. 

This pic is as close as I could get to showing you the real deal

Every now and then I break into this ridiculous dance to make Ben laugh - it basically involves sporadic jumping up and down like a monkey with a huge grin across my face and panting.  Yeah... it looks as stupid as it sounds, but it makes Ben laugh really really hard, so I do it.  In fact I did it this morning.  The trick is to catch him off guard, so I wait until he's busy doing his hair in the bathroom or something, and then I leap out into the door way to burst into it.  It doesn't take long before he's laughing so hard noise stops coming out of him.  Which was the case this morning.  I'm a giver, I like when I can make others laugh, it makes me happy - so I do dumb things to bring other people in my world a little more happiness because it's totally win win.  Also, don't ask me how this whole dance came about - I've been doing it for as long as I've known Ben, and I have no idea what prompted it in the first place.

Earlier this morning, Ben and I had our own version of the Thumb War.  Rather than holding hands and doing that "1-2-3-4 I declare a Thumb War" thing and trying to pin the other person's thumb, instead we do things differently (as you may have noticed, we kind of march to the beat of our own drum in a lot of things).  Our Thumb War consists of Ben making a fist, and clentching his hand as tight as possible, while I try to pry my fingers under his thumb to get it lose.  This doesn't sound quite so difficult until you realize Ben has moist skin... like really really moist... like he's constantly nervous and his hands always feel just a little bit wet.  It's hard to get a grip on his thumb, which is what makes this game stupid funny - also the laughter brings the difficulty level up too as strength and laughing aren't really compatible.  


So there you have it - a little insight into what makes me smile on a daily basis.  Also, yet another peek into the weird world of Heather and Ben - feel free to visit any time, pants are optional.