So I've decided to start focusing on recording and sharing #FiveGoodThings each week. They might be little, they might be significant, they might be personal, they might be something good for a friend or family member or a complete stranger.
Everyone should be able to find five positive things that happen each week, right? I know someone as blessed as I (sometimes take for granted that I) am should have no problem with this.
So I hope that this is a good personal exercise and maybe even spreads a little happiness, causes us to pause and reflect, or mayyyybe even inspires others to try to find five --- or more!! --- good things in their week. I'm not putting it out there as a challenge, but I hope someone reading this might want to join me in this effort. I'm curious to see if it gradually brings about a better outlook and affects how I go about life. We shall see!!
And yes I am already late posting my inaugural edition. My intention is to post these Friday morning. It's Monday night. Whatever.
#FiveGoodThings: 8.8.14
1. A 10-Year Anniversary Vow Renewal - I met Nicole at our high school freshman orientation when we were given our combination locks and I was hopelessly trying to figure out how to open mine and finally asked her for help. I guess it was six or seven years later that I was one of her bridesmaids when she married Kyle, another five or so years after that when I became Godmother to her daughter Payton, and last weekend I watched her renew her vows to her husband. How neat it is to have a group of girlfriends like that. Love is always worth celebrating. And she planned a lovely party to celebrate.
Oh yeah and she asked me to letter all the chalkboard decorations so check that out. Not-so-humble brag.
Oh yeah and she asked me to letter all the chalkboard decorations so check that out. Not-so-humble brag.
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| Their photographer that day was Amanda Cory Photography. |
2. The Lego Movie -- I have a bad habit of declaring that I'd like to watch (insert name of movie) at some point, and then when we actually sit down to watch a movie at home none of them sound appealing.... I just have to be in the mood for most movies and yes I know I'm terrible and it probably drives E crazy more than he admits to me. So last night when he read off a list of movies from the Netflix queue and I "meh'd" every one of them and we were about to just say forget it, we finally settled on The Lego Movie. We loved it. I mean, I suppose it's made for children but it's one of those that has great little jokes and references that adults will appreciate and visually it's just awesome. Oh, and you'll probably enjoy the many recognizable voices. But what I really loved was the message --- be yourself, everyone has something to contribute, don't be afraid to throw the directions aside and do what feels right to you (something I could really take to heart these days).
Also, let your kids PLAY and explore their creativity. I thought that message was in interesting contrast to some of the criticism of Lego lately; particularly of their products marketed to girls --- examples such as those found here and here. Hopefully this marks a return to Lego's roots and represents a fresh approach that is inclusive and focused on encouraging creative play and building whatever makes you happy.
3. Becky Hammon Hired as an Assistant Coach with the San Antonio Spurs - I guess we'll continue with the "yay women's empowerment" theme. Now I have to admit I'm not much of an NBA fan... I'll watch some of the playoffs and pay attention to the Finals, but the regular season drags on for me and I don't have a particular team that I'm rooting for.... but that could change.
Being a female sports fan, of course the headline that a woman was hired as an assistant coach in the NBA caught my eye; it's definitely not something you see everyday from any of the major professional sports in the US. And although, as I said, I don't have a major stake with any particular team, I was definitely paying attention and pulling for the Spurs this year so that I could see SDSU alum Kawhi Leonard win a ring --- and him being named the Finals MVP was amazing! --- so I'm even more impressed with this organization since reading Tuesday's news. I'm certainly no expert and there's no need for me to regurgitate when you can go directly to the source, so here are a few of the articles I enjoyed: SB Nation, Bleacher Report, The Washington Post.
It's just another step towards equality and improved diversity in sports. Sports have in the past helped to promote equality when the rest of society was still catching up --- Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier, Billie Jean King's groundbreaking work to promote gender equality, and of course more recently athletes like Jason Collins and Michael Sam taking brave steps towards ending the silence of homosexuals in the major professional leagues.
Of course a sports team can have all the feel-good stories in the world and what they're really aiming for at the end of the day is more numbers in the "W" column than the "L," so only time will tell how successful Ms. Hammon proves to be in this particular job with the Spurs (and it's critical to further progress that her performance isn't used as an indicator of the entire female population); regardless, it's an awesome step forward and I'm excited to see how things go from here.
4. Free Concert in the Park with my Grandparents - I try to make it to at least a few of these concerts during the summer; it's such a nice way to spend beautiful summer evenings in San Diego. I was surprised that my grandparents agreed at 1pm to a concert that same evening, but we decided to be "spontaneous" and I'm glad we did!
5. Local Coffee at the Beach - I was heading down to my parents' on Saturday and, still needing coffee and really wanting to spend a few minutes at the beach, grabbed a (really yummy) cup at Katy's Cafe, this cute, funky place in Imperial Beach.
I'm trying to do a better job of utilizing my purchasing power to support local establishments, and while I have a long way to go, this was an extremely easy and satisfying way of doing so. I mean, you can't beat your morning cup of coffee with this view:
Ok, so there's my first week's worth of five good things. In a world full of crazy it feels good to reflect on a few positive moments.
What are your five good things?
xoxox,
Being a female sports fan, of course the headline that a woman was hired as an assistant coach in the NBA caught my eye; it's definitely not something you see everyday from any of the major professional sports in the US. And although, as I said, I don't have a major stake with any particular team, I was definitely paying attention and pulling for the Spurs this year so that I could see SDSU alum Kawhi Leonard win a ring --- and him being named the Finals MVP was amazing! --- so I'm even more impressed with this organization since reading Tuesday's news. I'm certainly no expert and there's no need for me to regurgitate when you can go directly to the source, so here are a few of the articles I enjoyed: SB Nation, Bleacher Report, The Washington Post.
It's just another step towards equality and improved diversity in sports. Sports have in the past helped to promote equality when the rest of society was still catching up --- Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier, Billie Jean King's groundbreaking work to promote gender equality, and of course more recently athletes like Jason Collins and Michael Sam taking brave steps towards ending the silence of homosexuals in the major professional leagues.
Of course a sports team can have all the feel-good stories in the world and what they're really aiming for at the end of the day is more numbers in the "W" column than the "L," so only time will tell how successful Ms. Hammon proves to be in this particular job with the Spurs (and it's critical to further progress that her performance isn't used as an indicator of the entire female population); regardless, it's an awesome step forward and I'm excited to see how things go from here.
4. Free Concert in the Park with my Grandparents - I try to make it to at least a few of these concerts during the summer; it's such a nice way to spend beautiful summer evenings in San Diego. I was surprised that my grandparents agreed at 1pm to a concert that same evening, but we decided to be "spontaneous" and I'm glad we did!
5. Local Coffee at the Beach - I was heading down to my parents' on Saturday and, still needing coffee and really wanting to spend a few minutes at the beach, grabbed a (really yummy) cup at Katy's Cafe, this cute, funky place in Imperial Beach.
I'm trying to do a better job of utilizing my purchasing power to support local establishments, and while I have a long way to go, this was an extremely easy and satisfying way of doing so. I mean, you can't beat your morning cup of coffee with this view:
Ok, so there's my first week's worth of five good things. In a world full of crazy it feels good to reflect on a few positive moments.
What are your five good things?
xoxox,
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