Easy Ways to Celebrate Life This Week.

Last week, I wrote about how your life is worth celebrating. About how we should find little reasons to celebrate, how we shouldn't wait until special events or vacations to notice the good or live like life is special. 
I've really been trying to keep this in mind day to day, so I thought it'd be fun to start sharing how to do this. It's one thing to say, "Hey! Let's celebrate life!" And then another to actually do it. So I'll give you my ideas and you tell me your ideas and we'll just all be a bunch of party people celebrating life, okay? Okay good. 
Have something to look forward to. I'm a big believer of living in the moment, but I think that sometimes, looking forward to something actually helps you live in the moment. Chris gets time off for vacation in seven weeks (PRAISE) and I'm just. so. excited. And having that to look forward to is really helping me feel more celebratory on a day to day basis, because if I'm bored or stressed, instead of just sitting down and zoning out to watch TV, I do something like look up things we should do on vacation, or look up floppy hats or bikinis that I definitely need for vacation. And then my attitude just kind of changes, because having something you're looking forward to is an easy way to brighten your day. 
If you don't have something, plan something. A visit to see your family, a lunch date with friends, a day trip to a really great mall. Having something to look forward to, big or small, makes life feel more special. 

Buy something small (ahem, cheap) that will bring you a little bit of happiness every day. Prime example: my new doormat (which I can't find online, but it's from Target!) It was $12 and makes me happy / gives me summer vacation vibes every time I come home. It's tempting to spend money on something like fancy coffee that's gone in five minutes (although that's totally appropriate at times, too), but this week, if you're spending money, spend it on something like a new doormat, or printing out your favorite pictures to hang on your fridge where they'll make you smile everytime you open it. A few dollars, a lot of smiles. Win-win. 
Make something you really love for dinner. Dinnertime happens every single day. You know it's going to be a part of your day, but it's so easy to just gloss over. This week, try making it a mini celebration. If you're cooking anyway, you might as well cook something you love eating. If you wanna get real crazy, maybe even eat at the table instead of in front of the TV. If you're the kind of person who orders a cup of coffee after a nice dinner out, then make a pot of coffee and enjoy a cup at your own table. Sip it and slow down and enjoy and talk about what was good in your day.
How are you going to celebrate your life this week?

I'm Just So Proud of Us.

I woke up today still on cloud nine from our exciting news this weekend. Also, apparently happy news turns me into the kind of person who says things like "over the moon excited" and "on cloud nine." So there's that. But really-I'm just so happy.

I got up to get my coffee and cried actual tears of joy while it was brewing. Usually, any tears that happen before coffee are most definitely not fueled by joy, so that's saying something. I was just so overjoyed by the thought of how far we've come.

What kicked my tears off at the Match Day ceremony was the dean talking about the white coat ceremony-the first medical school event (almost 4 years ago) where all the students received their first white coats. She talked about the emotion of that day, and I cried, because I was there with Chris, and I remember that day so well. And on Match Day, at the emotional, full-circle event, I was there with him again. We've been together through it all, and I'm so proud of us.

I woke up feeling so celebratory. We should celebrate! There should be champagne! And shopping! And movies! And cake! Then I felt silly, because Match Day was Friday, and we've already celebrated.

And then I felt stupid for feeling silly over that.

Because dreams coming true is worth celebrating. Sticking it out through the hard times is worth celebrating. Reaching your goals and not losing your mind in the process is worth celebrating. A good relationship is worth celebrating.

Guys, I think you should take time to be proud of yourself. Of your accomplishments. Of your relationships. You are amazing, and you are worth celebrating.

So bring on the champagne and the cake. Today, tomorrow, next month. I'm so proud of us, and that is worth celebrating.

Celebrating The Leap Year.

Earlier in the year, I wrote a post about how 2016 had 365 fresh starts and new chances to be whoever we wanted to be, and someone commented and said, "I have good news for you: We get 366 of those this year." It's true! We get an entire extra day this year, one that you probably weren't planning on. So I have some suggestions for how you should spend it!

Revisit one of your New Years goals.  Did you make a goal to go to the gym more, but you've really only been twice? Go to the gym on Monday! 

Have a party you would never have otherwise. Looking for a reason to throw that obscurely themed party? Here you go! 

Catch up on something you fell behind on this month. Whether it's something boring like spreadsheets at work or something fun like an instagram challenge-whatever you're behind in, use Monday to catch up and get back on schedule!

Start a new tradition. From now on, celebrate each leap year by watching a certain type of movie or eating a certain type of food. 

Do something you keep saying you would do if you had the time. Try out that new coffee shop or donate your old clothes to Goodwill or get your oil changed or whatever it is you keep procrastinating on. Warning: If you actually do this, you will have to find some other project to keep you busy procrastinating for the rest of the year. 

Or, come home from work and go to bed early and get way more sleep than you did last year. Hey, it's your extra day. Do whatever you want. 

Happy Friday! 

Celebrate Life.

I'm a sucker for any holiday that comes with decorations. St. Patrick's Day? Time to break out the green. Cinco de Mayo? Time for taco night! Easter? Better get a new dress to wear to church.

The first March that Chris and I were married, he came home to find me making green drinks. They were disgusting, by the way. Some weird mix of mint and powdered sugar. But it was before I knew that not every recipe on Pinterest was fail-proof.

He didn't really understand why we needed to have green drinks. Granted, this is coming from someone who didn't even really like to celebrate Christmas before me, so obviously he had a lot to learn. I told him we didn't need green drinks, but that any reason to celebrate is a good one.

It should come as no surprise, then, that I love Valentine's Day. A holiday that is celebrated with way too much pink and chocolate and champagne and love?! Sign me up.

I know that when it comes to Valentine's Day, a lot of people are in the camp of, "It's holiday that Hallmark has exploited to trick us into thinking it's an opportunity to celebrate something we should already celebrate everyday."

And to that I say: Of course it is. 

But why not just go with it?

Now, if you're really celebrating every day with chocolates and love letters, than by all means, carry on. But since I doubt very many of us do that, why not take Valentine's Day as an opportunity to celebrate life? After all, you should be in love with your life, if nothing else.

So this week, celebrate. Make chocolate-covered strawberries. Give a cheesy card. Get sucked into buying something pink and love-themed. Make dinner reservations for Sunday night. Or stay in and cook something special. Buy overpriced candy and flowers. Just celebrate the day of love.

And when that's over, keep celebrating. Celebrate life. The Mondays and the Thursdays that may feel mundane, but are really reminders that you are alive, and are opportunities to celebrate that.

Celebrate your marriage, your friends, yourself. Celebrate that it's Tuesday and the sun is shining. That your car started and you made it to work on time. Celebrate the cheesy holidays with the decorations and cards and presents. Celebrate that you're alive, that you're happy.

This is life. It's your only one. It should be celebrated. 

H A P P Y S E P T E M B E R .

h e l l o   f a l l .

hello to sipping on something pumpkin or apple flavored every morning.

hello to celebrating a new season.

hello to oranges and reds and yellows.

hello to spending more time outside.

hello to decorating my tiny little home with scarecrows and owls.

hello to pumpkin candles, coffee, and cakes galore.

hello to a season of new dreams and new adventures.

hello to feeling extra inspired, organized, and in love with life.

What are you saying hello to today?

What We Should Take Away From the Reaction to Robin Williams' Death

On Monday, Robin Williams was found dead of an apparent suicide and people all around the world wept.

Twitters and Instagrams filled up with pictures and quotes and people expressing their sadness over the loss of a man who brought so much laughter into so many people's lives.  But they also filled up with something else.

They filled up with messages of hope.

Messages of people sharing their own stories of managing depression and choosing to live.  Messages of people urging others to get help if they felt like taking their own life, promising that someone would miss them and the world wouldn't be better without them, no matter how strongly they felt that way.  "Your life matters" started trending on twitter within an hour of the story breaking.

Why do we wait for something so tragic to happen to tell people their life matters?

Yes, when depression and suicide are brought to light by a high profile tragedy, it's a great opportunity to tell people they're not alone and that their life matters.  But so is a Tuesday afternoon.

When the ugliness of depression rears it's head in such a public way, it's easy to respond.  It's easy to post something on twitter and tell people you love them and they are wanted, because you know that everyone else is also sitting in the wake of a sad event.

But is that maybe waiting a little too long?

Do not wait for death to show its face before you choose to celebrate life. 

Don't wait for tragedy to motivate you into telling people you love them and that they matter.  Tell them every chance you get.  If you have a story that could help others, share it now.  Celebrate the lives of those around you.  Celebrate just how wonderful it is to be alive.

Don't wait for death.  Celebrate life now.