Happiness

Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars. . . and if you have eyes you will be able to see that the whole existence is joyful. Everything is simply happy. Trees are happy for no reason; they are not going to become prime ministers or presidents and they are not going to become rich and they will never have any bank balance. Look at the flowers--for no reason. It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are. ~Osho

My Book

For many years--mostly the ones between 5th grade and high school--I kept a journal. I haven't revisited those journals in several years, but I seem to recall that the elementary school ones were filled with boy crushes, the middle school ones with family drama, and the high school ones with general who-am-I-why-doesn't-anyone-listen-to-me-what-does-it-all-mean angst. After high school, I tried to keep a journal several times, and succeeded here and there, but I never kept it up for more than a couple of months. After a while, keeping a journal didn't really appeal to me anymore, and I let it go altogether.

A few years later, I was reading an issue of Real Simple magazine (still a monthly pastime for me). I don't remember the context, but I remember reading an idea to write down, each night, something you did that day, be it special or ordinary. It was presented as a way to differentiate your days and keep them from seeming monotonous, as though time is passing by you by with each day seeming exactly the same (e.g., go to the gym, go to work, eat dinner, go to bed, repeat Monday through Friday).

Something about that idea appealed to me, and on February 12, 2005, I picked up an empty journal and wrote for that day: "Heard Gloria Steinem and Susan Levine speak; went to Happy China buffet with Dan; ring shopping with Dan; saw 'The Aviator' with Dan."

Granted, a day of listening to Gloria Steinem and shopping for an engagement ring was hardly a typical day, but that was the start of "my book," as I've come to call it. Each night, before turning out the light, I write in "my book." It never takes me more than three minutes. It's never more than a few lines, and usually no more than one or two. And I never imagined what a treasured item it would come to be.

Typically, journals are filled with reflections, musings, life changes, and big events. While the big events do have their place in my book: "September 4, 2005: DAN AND I GOT ENGAGED!," most of the entries are small--whether they are places I visited, errands I ran, people I talked to, or just little things that stick out from that day. . . .

May 8, 2005: Went to church. Went to Cold Stone Creamery (Dan & I) with Lena & Brandon.

December 8, 2005: Several inches of snow today--the first snow of the season!

April 27, 2006: Martin Sexton concert in Columbia!

August 2, 2006: Watched six episodes of "Sex and the City," Season 4, back to back. :)

October 5, 2006: Dan and I enjoyed tasty pumpkin beer!

December 15, 2006: Treated myself to dinner at Chick-Fil-A. Babysat.

April 1, 2007: Ate coffee cake and played Scattergories and Go Fish before bed.

September 10, 2007: Dan and I went to Laundromat. Talked to Missy and Mom re: Thanksgiving plans (yay!).

November 10, 2007: Went to have oil changed in early AM. Hung out at Borders, drank a gingerbread latte, and read up on socially responsible investing.

February 8, 2008: Went to drag show with Sara--had a fabulous time!

July 29, 2008: Ran errands and went grocery shopping after work. I bought the most beautiful (and most delicious-smelling) bunch of locally grown basil!

My book does not offer me a space for grandiose reflections on life, love, and lessons learned. But it does offer me little capsules of my life--little capsules that I might otherwise forget or miss. And it gives me the added pleasure of looking back and seeing what made my day special exactly one, two, three, four years ago, reminding me of the little things that make my days and my life anything but monotonous.

Happy Tree Day!

To me, trees are among the most beautiful, magical, spiritual things on Earth. They have such grace, power, and wisdom about them. I feel comforted that, as the world spins around us, trees are steady. They are rooted and calm. I marvel at the trees that have stood for decades, or even centuries; the ways in which they have seen the world change, and yet they remain the same, ever silent and sure--growing steadily each year, taking the changing seasons in stride, looking down upon us from such a unique vantage point, as if they can see things about ourselves and the world that we cannot.

Today is one of my very favorite days of the year. I love, love, love trees. I love that there is an entire day devoted to them. And I love that Arbor Day always falls so close to my birthday, which makes it feel extra special!

Tomorrow, my father-in-law is taking Dan and I to Longwood Gardens and out to dinner for my birthday. I desperately miss the Gardens in Missouri, so I am really looking forward to being in a garden setting once more (in this case, 1050 acres of gardens, woodlands, and meadows!). As an added bonus, Longwood is having an Arbor Day celebration this weekend, complete with a guided tour of the magnificent trees on the grounds. I can hardly wait to bask in the beauty of the trees and the gardens.

So, as an early birthday present to me, go hug a tree today. That's right--I said go hug a tree. And let's do all we can to protect them!

The oaks and the pines, and their brethren of the wood, have seen so many suns rise and set, so many seasons come and go, and so many generations pass into silence, that we may well wonder what "the story of the trees" would be to us if they had tongues to tell it, or we ears fine enough to understand.
~Author Unknown, quoted in Quotations for Special Occasions by Maud van Buren

The tree is more than first a seed, then a stem, then a living trunk, and then dead timber. The tree is a slow, enduring force straining to win the sky.
~Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Wisdom of the Sands, translated by Stuart Gilbert

My Life of Late: A Quick Recap

• Just finished reading the Twilight series. I can't believe it took me this long to get through them, though I've recently realized that I am a slow reader. I like to visualize every description and savor every word--often rereading sentences more than once--so getting through a novel tends to take me forever. I do truly relish each book I read, though. . . and I quite enjoyed my time with Bella and Edward! (And for the record, I am officially a big dorky convert to the Twilight phenomenon. I got the movie from Netflix, just for kicks, and ended up watching it three times before returning it. Yesterday, I was unable to resist the Target exclusive 3-disc deluxe edition DVD set--on sale for 19.99, which I was able to purchase thanks to an early birthday gift from my sister and her husband).
  

• Missy and Garrett left Wednesday morning (insert sad face). Having my first visitors here was so wonderful, and I was SO happy to spend time with them! They brought me the most beautiful collection of vegetables and herbs, AND some Asheville-brewed beer (as you can imagine, Dan and I were ecstatic, especially given all of our troubles finding beer here!). Now if they would only move here, my whole life would be complete.

• The job interviews are rolling in, thank goodness. In fact, I'm a little bombarded by them--I have three interviews for three different jobs just this week! Some of the jobs I'm excited about; others would just be jobs, but at least they would be something. It's nice to have some movement in my search.
  

• I've been having a lot of problems in recent months with my wrists and hands, and my doctor has given me wrist guards to wear. They are big and black and Velcro-y and definitely not pretty. I'm supposed to wear them as much as possible--even overnight (VERY sexy). The first couple of nights, I must have taken them off in my sleep, because I woke up in the middle of the night with the wrist guards in my bed. Luckily, I seem to have adjusted. . . though they will never look good. Oh, and I forgot to mention that my cats enjoy attacking them.
  

• My weekend was lovely, lovely, lovely. Dan and I headed down to the Free Library Festival for some readings and events, giving us a chance to see another part of the city and check out the beautiful library building. The weather was unbelievably gorgeous, and we ate our lunch outside in the sunshine. Things are finally starting to look green here. . . I was starting to doubt if Philadelphia had any leaves!

• I reach the big 3-0 a week from today. I've actually really been looking forward to it. I feel like I've grown beyond my 20s, and it's time for the next phase of my life. It just feels. . . right. Bring the 30s on!
  

I Dare You Not to Smile

A couple of weeks ago, I was insanely jealous that Dan saw Richard Simmons dancing to Gloria Gaynor at the train station during his morning commute (apparently Mr. Simmons is promoting Ocean Spray these days, and they sent him to the 30th and Market station).

Only a couple of days later, Dan sent me a link to the video below. Kind of makes me wonder how our days would be different if more of our commutes looked like this. . . or if they routinely included an energetic man in too-short shorts dancing to "I Will Survive."

Seester is Coming!

Tomorrow, in the wee hours of the night (or, technically, on Saturday morning), my sister and her husband will arrive for a four-day visit. Any Seester time is always truly exciting, but this will be particularly exciting because a) she and Garrett will be my first visitors to Philly, so I'll finally get to show someone where I live, and b) I feel the need for a vacation. Though I won't technically be going anywhere, hosting a visitor is always a nice excuse to shirk responsibilities and be a tourist in your own town. And God knows I need a break. In one week, I found out we owe $1700 in taxes, I had a horrible doctor's visit (no bad news; just a terrible experience that left me in tears), and I got the disappointing news that I did not beat out the other, more experienced candidate for a job I was really hoping for (and for which I did three interviews!).

So, my sister's visit could not be more timely. For four days, I will not look for a job, and I will not think about my bills. Instead, I will watch cheesy movies and eat snacks. I will have Easter brunch and enjoy an abundance of free, fresh-from-the-farm veggies (I'm fortunate to have a brother-in-law who works on an organic farm!). I will have a chance to show someone I love my new home. I will revisit all the places that made me fall in love with Philly the first time I visited. I will lounge around. I will stay up too late. I will sing silly songs and do silly dances. I will laugh, laugh, laugh. I can hardly wait.

One Small Step Forward for Vegkind

As a vegetarian, going out to eat can be a real challenge sometimes. Luckily, there are lots of veg-friendly places here in Philly, but I've had more than my fair share of restaurant experiences when I've been stuck ordering a side salad and a baked potato (it's tasty and all, but I can make that at home for a lot less, thank you very much). And let's not even talk about the number of veggie and/or portobello mushroom sandwiches I have ordered in my two short years as a vegetarian.

To my great surprise, I read today that 7-Eleven is introducing vegan black burritos, lentil and spinach burritos, and a falafel platter in all of its New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania locations.

Let this be a lesson to all other places serving food. If 7-Eleven can become veg-friendly, you have no excuse.

Good Thing: My Step

As much as I miss the gym, I'm holding off on joining one until I'm sure we have the money. Luckily, I already have most of the things I need to do strength training at home (weights, a resistance band, a stability ball), so getting that done isn't too difficult. Cardio has been a little harder. The weather is getting nicer, so I'm able to get out more, but since I have knee problems, I can only run about once a week. I jump rope sometimes, but I'm sure it drives my downstairs neighbors insane. I get workout DVDs through Netflix from time to time, but I find that a lot of them aren't really intensive enough for me.

So, I went looking for other options. I happened across an adjustable step at Target for about $30.

I've always thought step aerobics seemed a little. . . not for me, and I was afraid that a $30 step would be too cheap to be sturdy, but it has proved to be a great investment. It actually came with two workout DVDs (one cardio and one strength training). I haven't done the strength training one (I love my weights and circuit training!), but the cardio one totally kicks my butt. The workout is on the short side, so I complete it twice back-to-back (sometimes with weights), and it gets my heart going just as much as running! It's a really great option if you are looking for a workout you can do at home. Maybe soon I'll have quads of steel!