Happiness is.....knowing you are not perfect

"I don't want to be perfect....Perfect is boring"- My 9 year old niece Autumn

That girl knows more about life at age 9 than most people do at age 50.

What is perfect anyway?   I can't even begin to define it because perfection means something different to every body.  Some people may view perfection as having a nice big house where everything is displayed as if Pinterest came to life in all of their rooms.  Other's may view it as having the fittest body and the cleanest diet, not a care in the world and eating carrots like I eat Cheetos....I mean, carrots are nature's Cheeto right?

Perfection to me is eating the salad AND the cookie.  Having a HOME filled with love, laughter, and a few messes from where memories were made.  Exercising to feel healthy and happy, not to have the medias idea of a perfect body. Finding adventures in the small or large city you live in.... no town is too small to have an adventure.  Forgetting to put make up on before your work day starts because you made an epic breakfast and you were dancing too hard in the kitchen to remember.

You have to let go of society's version of perfect.  Nobody is "PERFECT".  We all have our unique qualities and "Quirks" that make up our personalities, embrace them.

 Those of you who really know me, know that I am basically organized chaos.  I have the worst anxiety about being late so I am typically over an hour early.  I mimic a tornado when I enter a room<-- I still don't understand how I do that?!  I run everywhere I go (I mean in stores to get groceries, helping customers, etc)  and I come on strong like a shot of whiskey.  I own one (maybe 2??) pair of high heels and I cannot even begin to tell you where they might be.... ugh, its like walking down hill all night, who truly enjoys that?   These are all things that I used to be self conscious about.  I would be nervous of how people viewed me or even judged me.  But then I remembered ........ who cares?  If someone doesn't like the fact that I ran across a store to get them a jacket to try on, then they don't see the fact that I just want to deliver great service in the shortest amount of time.  If people see me out and about in a cute sundress rocking some running shoes  and judge that I should throw on a pump... they might get jealous if the zombie apocalypse happens and I can move faster than them.  Sorry hunny, if you aren't fast, you're food.   See?? how simple is it to turn your insecurities into POSITIVE QUALITIES about yourself?! :)  I am still working on the Tornado one.... maybe it will be like the movie "Signs" where the little girl leaves her glasses of water everywhere and ends up saving her entire family.

Another thing that you need to embrace is: FAILURE!  It's okay to fail, it means that you tried!  Every time that you try again, you just get better and better.  Success doesn't happen over night or without failing a few times...maybe even hundreds and hundreds of times.  Keep trying and don't give up on your dream.  This is something from the movie "The Odd Life of Timothy Green"  One of my favorite Disney movies <3  I tell this to myself almost daily, because I fail.... daily!  Enjoy :)

So now, go on and keep failing until you succeed!  And like Rick from the Walking Dead says 

YOU ARE PERFECT :)

BE HAPPY, BE BRAVE, BE COURAGEOUS AND BE KIND!

Happiness is…Love

As the news of what happened in Orlando floods my life over the past 24 hours… I can't help but feel sadness, anger, and frustration come over me.  How could someone have so much hate in their heart that they could do such a thing?  How can this happen?  WHY?!?!

As my heart goes out to all the friends and families of those injured or lost, I will remain a little quieter today.

As a nation that has stated an endless amount of times that "LOVE IS LOVE"-we need to spread that love more than ever right now.

We need to prove that love can over come hate.
We need to be KIND to our neighbors, even if we "think" they are an enemy.
We need to reach out to those who need us.
We need to teach our children acts of kindness instead of acts of anger.
We need to love unconditionally and without question.
We need to remember that every single person we meet is completely different than who we are
We need to remember that those differences are what makes us magnificent
We need to be there for the people who are most affected by hate
We need to speak up when others are being tormented or bullied
We need to remember that even the smallest act can be heroic
We need to ask if a friend, family member, or stranger needs help
We need to spread love and share happiness to those who feel hate in their hearts
We need to show the world that love can conquer all
WE……

Today, tomorrow, and the rest of your life, find ways to reach out and show someone that we are here for each other.  Spread kindness throughout the world.  BE the hero.  Stand up and shout when no one else is saying anything.

The world won't change if we all sit and wait for someone else to speak up.

Feel.  Cry.  Mourn.  Do.

Lin-Manuel Miranda said it best "Love is Love is Love is Love is Love is Love is Love is LOVE cannot be killed or swept aside"

May we all come together to create, share, and amplify the love that we have for one another so that this may never happen again.

You and Beautiful, Smart, and Amazing.

I Love You.

Happiness is Running in Airplane mode

Have you ever had those days where you wake up in the morning and you can't think fast enough about what you HAVE to do that day?  It's like your stress and anxiety of your "TO DO" list is in fact your alarm clock.  You haven't even rolled out of bed yet and you are already thinking about what steps you have to take in order to make your day work as fluent as possible.  This was me almost everyday for awhile.  Ugh I know!  I just wouldn't turn off, and sometimes, I still don't!  I am always a "go go go " person, and I have learned to LOVE that about myself.  The only part that I still struggle with is that I look at taking a nap as a waste of time....I'll sleep when it's dark out because I love the sunshine way too much.

I have learned to find a healthy balance between stress and just not caring.  A little stress is good! It gives you drive and determination.  No stress can sometimes be bad, you just end up not caring or you sometimes don't make the best decisions.

When the "Struggle is real" as the T-shirts say... I have learned to set myself up on airplane mode.   No, I do not shut off my phone or email (although at times I should) but I literally turn myself off from letting the irrelevant stresses get to me.  Judgements from others, passive aggressive banter, and gossip are just some of the many stresses that I just seem to let go of.  Who cares?   You will always have people who think "Oh.... you're going to wear that?"-- YEP and I am going to rock the crap out of it! Or "Oh... you need to do this at your wedding, not that... this is tradition"...... WELL HONEY, Traditions start somewhere, so maybe we are starting a new one! :)   Don't worry about it!  Be true to who you are, and if someone is going to fault you for it....then they really are more envious that they don't feel as comfortable in their own skin as you do in yours.

Why do I say "Airplane mode?"

When I am running through the woods and the sunshine is peaking through the tree branches as the wind plays tag with their leaves.....I breathe in.   Here I am completely free.  I run a little further and my legs almost grow more youthful, as does the rest of my body.   I am untouchable.  My smile is as wide as it can get and my arms begin to reach out on either side of my body.  I am running with my arms out, banking left and right, laughing at myself.  I am a kid, pretending to be an airplane with not a care in the world besides where my next footstep will be. This is something that I do so often that it's no longer embarrassing.  I get giggles from other trail runners as we pass each other, but more often than not, they like the idea too and instantly start to play along.  These moments are priceless

My friend, and coworker, Amy and I ran a half marathon this past weekend and we ran in airplane mode quite a few times! Our goal was just to have fun and laugh the entire way!  We had runners laughing and cheering each other on! It was by far the greatest energy that we could give out.  Rather than think about how much pain their legs were in, they have two goofy girls to laugh at while they ran.  Sometimes you have to share your airplane to get others to join in on the fun! (MarathonFoto captured it perfectly!)

When you are feeling overwhelmed or a little stressed out, visualize what is causing it and try to think if the stress is worth it.  Why is the stress there and is it necessary?  Most of the time, it's out of your control and the worrying will just take second off your life and happiness from your heart. You are beautiful, amazing, and down right awesome!  Never foreget that!  And as always, remember to BE KIND!

Have the Best Day EVER!  And if you are stressed out, go into airplane mode :)