Do you ever have days when you wake up and realize that you may not be living your life the way you should? I had that wake up call this morning when the first thing I did was complain about the humidity and heat. Starting off the day complaining is probably not the right thing to do. Shouldn't I be thankful that I made it through the night okay? That no one I know was hurt during the thunderstorm last night. Kyle made it home from work just fine. My sister, who is having a baby on Thursday (!!!!), is perfectly healthy as is Baby Carter. My apartment was still standing and my toilet still working (MIRACLE). My car drove me to work quickly and safely. I have a job to go to! And this morning I am enjoying a delightful, free blueberry muffin with my Italian blend coffee.
I am going to start thinking more about things for which I am thankful. Every time I complain about something, I will counteract that with three things that are great about my life.
I saw this quote on Twitter today and it reaffirmed my same thoughts. "Today has the potential to be great. What will you make of it?" If I could just think about that every morning, and strive to make each day great in it's own way, it would be a live changing experience.
x's and o's
Courtney
Follow me on Twitter: thecourt_ney
Showing posts with label lifestyle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lifestyle. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Moving on... Again.
This past week has been completely packed, in more ways than one. Moving, planning a baby shower, and preparing for camping all at one time is a little much to add to my already busy schedule.
After peeling off half of the phrase, I really thought about the person I have become.
And what I finally realized is in the last photo...
until next time... x's and o's!
I know, I know. Boohoo. I'm not the type of person who likes to have something to do at every second of the day. I relish in my me-time. I like to be able to spend time doing what I want (reading, catching up on my YouTube subscriptions since I do not have tv, organizing my desk, cleaning). So when I say I have a busy schedule, it includes doing all of those things that I want to do.
After I came to the realization last week that I had to be out of my current apartment on the same day I would be returning from a long weekend camping trip, I started going a little crazy. Moving is one of those things that I like to take time to organize and plan. However, I didn't have time to do that. I started deciding right away when I had to do things and I realized I would have to move this week and be out of the apartment by Thursday night (tonight) because we are leaving directly after work Friday (tomorrow) and electric will be disconnected Friday.
Starting Saturday, I began packing all of my things. Sunday we moved some of my large furniture like the dining table and my desk. It's complicated because I'm not taking much of the furniture to the new apartment, some of the things belong to my sister, some to my parents, and some to my grandparents. It was important to seperate all of these things into the necessary piles.
The other important thing was keeping in mind that I would be staying at my parents for about two weeks. I needed to keep out my work clothes, some casual clothes, and keep camping clothes packed up in a different place. I like to have options when it comes to dressing and it is very difficult for me to plan for two weeks worth of outfits, not to mention the makeup, jewelry, and hair tools that I had to decide what to do with. What can be packed for two weeks? Will it melt? Do I need it for camping? Will I have room for it at my parents?
Yesterday was the first day that I felt I had things under control. I have been packing up things as I finish with them and taking them to storage this week. The plan for today was to move my dresser, nightstand, makeup cart, and bed out tonight. I also have to clear out the refrigerator and quickly clean the entire place. Also tonight I need to make some food for camping that we offered to bring and I need to have all of the camping supplies gathered in one spot so Kyle can load up the car after school tomorrow. I was relying heavily on Kyle's assistance with everything since my brother has to work, my dad has back problems, and Pop isn't supposed to lift anything over like 30 pounds. Kyle then let me know last night that he would be unavailable because he was invited to a Reds game in Cincy. Grrr...
I know that I will get everything finished. I just feel frustrated that I won't have much help. And really I just wanted someone to be there to make me feel more confident about getting everything done. HOWEVER, I will do it on my own and then feel proud that I can be independent.
Along those same lines, I was able to really reflect last night on my first-time-living-alone experience. I had vinyl letters above my bed that I had to peel off. I'll attach a photo. As I was peeling them off, I started thinking about how I have been an example of this exact phrase. I feel like a completely different person than I was a year ago. Having to make my own choices and kind of figure things out myself, I have become much more confident. I feel like I have experienced so much and learned so many things by trial and error- or trial and success -which really makes me feel good.
After peeling off half of the phrase, I really thought about the person I have become.
And what I finally realized is in the last photo...
until next time... x's and o's!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
The art of making… decisions.
*********BEWARE! This is a long post.*********
I am not one who has regrets. I stand easily beside any decision I have made in the past, whether I think it to be the “right” decision or not. This is not to say that I think I am the model of perfection but an example of feeling secure and confident.
A lot of my time lately has been spent thinking about decision making. Why do people make bad choices? How do they know if they are making right choices? Why do we punish ourselves for making poor choices but do not reward ourselves for making good choices?
For many things we choose, there is typically a strong right or wrong decision, which typically comes down to courtesy or truthfulness. Help someone with a heavy load, return a lost wallet, brush our teeth in the morning –yes that comes down to civility, too.
It should be easy for people to make these choices and if everyone made the right decision, the world would be a much nicer, cordial place. This is the part where I’m daydreaming about a perfect world.
The other choices we make are evidence of who we are as individuals and may or may not affect others. While I may choose to wear dangerously tall shoes while walking the streets of NYC all day, it does not affect anyone else but is a choice I would make. A bad choice to say the least; although I know I would do it again, which is a reflection of me. (Sometimes fashion decisions can be both bad and good at the same time.) Or I may decide to not stop for gas, resulting in the need of someone else’s assistance. This is a bad decision that affects someone else and is clearly something I would do. **Side note: this only has to happen once to realize it will never happen again.
Choices I make for work usually fall into the latter category. Building codes, fire safety codes, ADA codes prohibit me from making terrible decisions that are harmful to the public. The choices I make about carpet patterns, wallcovering texture, and paint color are generally simple choices because it either fits together or it doesn’t. Other decisions like furniture or light fixture selection is typically pretty simple, too. Does the chair sit comfortably? Will this pendant produce enough light? Is the style appropriate for the interior architecture? These choices affect others productivity and it is extremely important for clients and their staff to feel comfortable in their surroundings and have things at their convenience.
Back to the topic: feeling secure and confident in decision making. When making decisions that affect others it’s important to ask ourselves one simple question: how is this decision more beneficial than the other option? A client might ask me why I recommend a particular chair over another. If the decision I made was truly the right one, it should be easy for me to rattle off why this chair is the one for them. "The chair is perfect because it is has pneumatic height, has strong casters that will not track the new carpet, has an ergonomic back adjustment to be personalized for each user, has adjustable arms that slide under the table, and comes in a wide variety of upholstery options." I can make my choice sound wonderful, even if it is not the right decision. This chair could be too modern for the space and could really change the appearance of the room but it has so many other wonderful qualities that it cannot be overlooked. It sounds like I’m suggesting lying but I’m really not. It’s about backing up decisions with a solid foundation.
Personal decisions I make are generally more difficult to support because my needs and wants are skewed, as they are for many. I may feel that I need to buy a new lip-gloss because I do not have a particular color or one with such glitter, but do I truly need it? Or do I just want it because it’s pretty?
The reason for this post is because I have had to make a lot of decisions lately. A lot of decisions at work as well as a lot of personal decisions that I wish I could share. I made a pretty poor decision that I should regret because it does affect other people. I told myself a long time ago to live life in each moment and not to be disappointed in choices I made and I have held to that, which makes me feel confident in myself. For this decision, I considered the consequences and was aware of what could happen with this bad decision but still made the bad decision, which I have realized is the wrong decision. (There is definitely a difference between a bad decision and a wrong decision but that is a completely different post.) Not once did I think about what would happen if I made the right decision. I did not take my own advice and see both sides of both choices- the pro’s of the good decision, the pro’s of the bad decision, the con’s of the good decision, the con’s of the bad decision. I only considered the bad decision. It’s like I already knew what choice I was going to make…
Anyways, I just really needed to let my fingers type for a long period of time because it’s kind of like therapy for me. Hopefully one day I will not be as embarrassed by this decision and I will be able to share it more openly.
x’s and o’s
I am not one who has regrets. I stand easily beside any decision I have made in the past, whether I think it to be the “right” decision or not. This is not to say that I think I am the model of perfection but an example of feeling secure and confident.
A lot of my time lately has been spent thinking about decision making. Why do people make bad choices? How do they know if they are making right choices? Why do we punish ourselves for making poor choices but do not reward ourselves for making good choices?
For many things we choose, there is typically a strong right or wrong decision, which typically comes down to courtesy or truthfulness. Help someone with a heavy load, return a lost wallet, brush our teeth in the morning –yes that comes down to civility, too.
It should be easy for people to make these choices and if everyone made the right decision, the world would be a much nicer, cordial place. This is the part where I’m daydreaming about a perfect world.
The other choices we make are evidence of who we are as individuals and may or may not affect others. While I may choose to wear dangerously tall shoes while walking the streets of NYC all day, it does not affect anyone else but is a choice I would make. A bad choice to say the least; although I know I would do it again, which is a reflection of me. (Sometimes fashion decisions can be both bad and good at the same time.) Or I may decide to not stop for gas, resulting in the need of someone else’s assistance. This is a bad decision that affects someone else and is clearly something I would do. **Side note: this only has to happen once to realize it will never happen again.
Choices I make for work usually fall into the latter category. Building codes, fire safety codes, ADA codes prohibit me from making terrible decisions that are harmful to the public. The choices I make about carpet patterns, wallcovering texture, and paint color are generally simple choices because it either fits together or it doesn’t. Other decisions like furniture or light fixture selection is typically pretty simple, too. Does the chair sit comfortably? Will this pendant produce enough light? Is the style appropriate for the interior architecture? These choices affect others productivity and it is extremely important for clients and their staff to feel comfortable in their surroundings and have things at their convenience.
Back to the topic: feeling secure and confident in decision making. When making decisions that affect others it’s important to ask ourselves one simple question: how is this decision more beneficial than the other option? A client might ask me why I recommend a particular chair over another. If the decision I made was truly the right one, it should be easy for me to rattle off why this chair is the one for them. "The chair is perfect because it is has pneumatic height, has strong casters that will not track the new carpet, has an ergonomic back adjustment to be personalized for each user, has adjustable arms that slide under the table, and comes in a wide variety of upholstery options." I can make my choice sound wonderful, even if it is not the right decision. This chair could be too modern for the space and could really change the appearance of the room but it has so many other wonderful qualities that it cannot be overlooked. It sounds like I’m suggesting lying but I’m really not. It’s about backing up decisions with a solid foundation.
Personal decisions I make are generally more difficult to support because my needs and wants are skewed, as they are for many. I may feel that I need to buy a new lip-gloss because I do not have a particular color or one with such glitter, but do I truly need it? Or do I just want it because it’s pretty?
The reason for this post is because I have had to make a lot of decisions lately. A lot of decisions at work as well as a lot of personal decisions that I wish I could share. I made a pretty poor decision that I should regret because it does affect other people. I told myself a long time ago to live life in each moment and not to be disappointed in choices I made and I have held to that, which makes me feel confident in myself. For this decision, I considered the consequences and was aware of what could happen with this bad decision but still made the bad decision, which I have realized is the wrong decision. (There is definitely a difference between a bad decision and a wrong decision but that is a completely different post.) Not once did I think about what would happen if I made the right decision. I did not take my own advice and see both sides of both choices- the pro’s of the good decision, the pro’s of the bad decision, the con’s of the good decision, the con’s of the bad decision. I only considered the bad decision. It’s like I already knew what choice I was going to make…
Anyways, I just really needed to let my fingers type for a long period of time because it’s kind of like therapy for me. Hopefully one day I will not be as embarrassed by this decision and I will be able to share it more openly.
x’s and o’s
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