The Most Interesting Woman Award

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Meet the most interesting woman.  This is Iris Apfel, and she is my hero.  I first came across a picture of her by chance, and I thought, whoever that crazy old bat is, I love her.  When I found a second picture of her, I determined that she wasn't just a random lady and I needed to learn more.

Iris Apfel was born in Queens, New York, and studied art at NYU and the University of Wisconsin (woot!) before spending a life long career in interior design, fashion, and living life as a style icon.  There are three things that I like most about Ms. Apfel which lend to a good life lesson:

1. Her best accessory is confidence.  She clearly appears confident and comfortable in her own skin, and it is so very refreshing.  Every photo of her shows joy and personality that is all her own.
2. Style trumps fashion.  Fashion is based on labels and lines of clothing that designers make up.  Style is something personal and an expression of personality and originality.  Ms. Apfel has more style than the City of New York.
3. Bold is better.  Bright colors, mixed prints, five stacked bracelets and a monkey statue in your apartment is clearly the way to go.

I hope that as I age, I can fall into even half of her personal style, because it says so much about her.  She clearly is a lady with worldly experiences and fabulous stories to tell.  I can't wait to be a brightly colored, mixed prints biddy wearing my body weight in jewelry and living surrounded by a stylish collection of conversation pieces.  It's good to have goals.

Read more:
Iris Apfel's Apartment Proves That More is Really More
Iris Apfel - Wikipedia

Wanna do the 30-Day Gratitude Photo Challenge with me?

Click here for the 30-Day Gratitude Photo Challenge

I thought this fun activity from positivelypresent.com would be a great way to stay mindful and present during the month of November.  You can take pictures, one theme each day, and post them on social media with #gratitude30.  I am excited to thoughtfully take my own photos but also to see what other people come up with each day as well.  Thanks to Positively Present for the post and the idea.

 

We start Friday, friends.

I have a confession to make... I am an introvert, and I'm not afraid to not show it.

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It's true.  I am an introvert.  I am one of those who have a whole different half below the surface.  You might not have known this about me, especially at work.  I have always been in a position that requires me to be "on stage" at work, and so my theater skills have done me well there.

But all of that time spent with people at work, or talking and interacting, means that I need to balance it with quiet time, introspective time, and alone time.  I promise, I am not a recluse. I just need to recharge.

I like to think of being an introvert as just saving some of my best features for those who know me well enough to appreciate them.  Other strangers might just wrongly assume that I am dull, shy or anti-social.

In some cases where I have been around highly chatty extroverts, I have found it quite draining and stopped any effort to contribute to the conversation.  I feel guilty that they are not seeing a true representation of me as a person, but then I think, if they slowed down to truly hear what I would say I would consider actually saying it.  Please don't hold it against me.

If you are an introvert, or you would like to better understand someone who is, read this:
What Is It Really Like To Be An Introvert?

This article is so spot-on, I am sad I didn't think of it first.  Enjoy your new found understanding of the "loners."

Twitter is gibberish. Except maybe for these feeds.

Via businessinsider.com

The thing about @ signs and # tags is that when you put them in the middle of sentences, it creates an even more ridiculous language than the version we call English now.  I often hash tag out of humor at the end of something, but I refuse to do as the kids do these days in the middle of a sentence.  We all have to take a stand somewhere.  Here is mine.

As for twitter, I have decided to sift out some worthy feeds so that you don't get caught in the mumbo jumbo.

HuffPost Living (@HealthyLiving)
These are some great blog articles for personal health and well-being in every aspect.  The one downside?  They tweet... a lot.

Harvard Biz Review (@HarvardBiz)
Good for anyone looking for some good advice for the work place.

Travel Wisconsin (@TravelWI)
This is a great source for some fun WI activities and day trips, including festivals.  Fall is awesome for this, so they have the goods.

Earth Pics (@Earth_Pics)
This is my absolute favorite feed.  It is only photos, and they are of the most beautiful far off places and an occasional cute baby hippo.  I was about to cancel my Twitter account until I met Earth Pics.

Modern Seinfeld (@SeinfeldToday)
If you loved Seinfeld, you will love this.  Someone tweets short synopses of a would-be could-be episode of Seinfeld if it was on TV today.

Seth MacFarlane (@SethMacFarlane)
Not only does he say the funniest inappropriate things, he also retweets some of the funny things that he sees.  Literally, I don't need to see anyone else's funny tweets, because I know Seth MacFarlane will sniff them out for me.

God (@TheTweetofGod)
If God has a sense of humor, this would be his feed.  I am glad you have a sense of humor too.

Enjoy, and keep the mid-sentence #hashtags and to a minimum, or else you will sound like this:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57dzaMaouXA



For when you don't know what makes you happy...

Via prettystuff.tumblr.com

I have a bit of a confession to make.  Most of 2012 was a trying year for me.  Prior to that, 2011 was one of the most successful years of my life.  I was enjoying being back in school, I got married, things were going well at work, and I even found a way to fit in a half-marathon.  And this is how I thrive the most, being just a little too busy.  Everything was great, until it wasn't.

Over the course of time in 2012, I realized that things weren't clicking for me anymore.  There was no tragic event in my life, but only a slow degradation of my perceived feeling of success.  And while I don't wish unforeseen crises on anyone, the "slow death" of my mojo was practically undetectable and just as lethal.  School was frustrating, I was missing my free time, and no matter what I tried, I could not feel successful about my work.

I had been trying a lot of different things to maintain my positude, but nothing was really did the trick.  I had lost my confidence and needed to get it back.  So I had to bring out the big guns. Here's how I did it, and I hope you can get your mojo back.

• Think positive thoughts: I am sorry that I am offering such mundane and cheesy advice here, but you have to start here.  For me, thank goodness that Pinterest was around so I could see all sorts of quirky, inspirational messages as well as people who just as weird as me.  I take comfort in that.  Find a blog, a twitter feed, or a Pinterest board that speaks to you.
• Get a new perspective: Surround yourself with sources that can open up your perspective towards the positive.  Try something that you haven't tried before.   I read some books and got perspective from podcasts.  Here are my favorite new perspectives:
• The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin
• Victor Schueller's radio podcast
• Quiet your brain: I have heard time and time again that meditation is a great resource, but I haven't been able to master that yet seeing as I can barely sit still through yoga.  For me, I have focused on my own quiet alone time, running, and mindfulness. For mindfulness, try this:
• How to Train A Wild Elephant & Other Adventures in Mindfulness, by Jan Chozen Bays
• Make an effort to connect with people: I began to make more of an effort to focus on improving other peoples' day, and it lifted mine.  I tried to spend more time with friends and family, or talking on the phone when I could.  And, I started writing a blog, where now you know a lot more about my life than I have ever shared before.
• Remove the roadblocks: For me, I eventually took a leap of faith for a challenging new job.  I also finally finished school so that I had more time for something other than homework.  But I'll tell you that I had gotten to the point where I didn't recognize who I was as an irritable and frustrated person and I immediately felt as though I was my old self again when I began removing some of the roadblocks to my happiness.

After all of this, I found what makes me happy, and it boils down to a few things: Surrounding myself with beautiful and weird things, constant learning about new things through podcasts/blogs/books, taking the time for mindfulness or quiet time, offering happiness to people and (trying) not expecting anything in return, and removing shit that brings me down.  I cannot be surrounded by people who bring me down, because I just won't allow them to ruin my day.  To my husband, you have been an amazing supporter and partner and I couldn't be even close to happy without you.

Everyone has to take their own path to discover how to be happy but the point is, the journey is just as important as the destination, so enjoy the discovery period.  It was a tough lesson, but a worthy one.

The Quantified Self: When iPhone apps attack!

Via pbs.org (Photo Source)

I was listening to a random podcast recently and learned more about the concept of the "Quantified Self."  Have you heard this term?  You may have participated in some aspect of the idea, as I know I have.  I have tracked my weight and calories through the My Fitness Pal app and the UP band that tracks my activity (including my sleep quality).  This is how I found out I am a black belt ninja at napping; My sleep quality was rarely less than 100%, while the hubs was more around the 75-80% range.

Currently there are people all over the world that are participating in the Quantified Self movement.  And I mean really tracking a lot of data, not just casually logging how much pie you ate today in My Fitness Pal.  This group of people track all sorts of data about themselves, mostly pertaining to health and wellness.  It is a group that understands the value in the awareness and tracking on information to help them achieve their best personal results.

Studies have shown that when we share data with others, or are very aware of it ourselves, we tend to strive for our best because we are being watched.  I totally eat less calories when I actually have to log them, and it prevents me from eating at restaurants because it is extremely hard to track.  Which is why I can't seem to commit to any quantified self data tracking for very long, as I love mom and pop restaurants.

Even with all of the capabilities, there is also the argument that is too much data, too much tracking, and too many gadgets.  The idea is fascinating though, and there is a whole population of people who support this.

If you are interested to learn more, here are a few sources to check out:
The Quantified Self: Data Gone Wild? (PBS)
About the Quantified Self

If this feels too Big Brother to you, here is an alternate solution:
Kickin' it old school...data free.

Happy 30-somethings: Resiliency, happy surroundings, and the heralded mix tape.

Via recitethis.com

I came across two very interesting articles this week that discussed the topic of happiness.  Reading them together helped highlight some of the key factors to happiness, particularly for my Gen Y age group, and some of the skills that I learned in some unlikely places to ensure my happiness at this stage in my life.  Here are the articles, in case you would like to partake in reading:

Why Generation Y Yuppies Are Unhappy - Huffington Post

The Habits of Supremely Happy People - Huffington Post

 

The first article does an exceptional job explaining how Gen Y-ers are wildly ambitious, have high expectations, and think that they are unique among others their age.  The high expectations mixed with a dose of reality ends in feeling let down and unfulfilled.  Facebook and other social media don't help, as we watch everyone else live what appears to be a "better" life, which is really just digitally enhanced and never really better.

 

Fast forward to the happy people habits.  While the first article gives only three basic pieces of advice for the unhappy Gen Y-ers, the second article provides habits that can help our wallowing generation.  Here are a few of my favorites, mostly that pertain as actionable items to the unhappy Gen Y problem.

• Surrounding yourself with happy people: This is critical to keep up momentum, and perhaps surrounding yourself with quality people will reduce the instances of Facebook-enhancing your life.  I don't even like to read or hear from unhappy people, so I do not surround myself with them, and that includes social media.
• Cultivating resilience: I truly believe this is a critical missing ingredient from our kids, and even Millenials' lives.  We have lost this in the world of teams without tryouts and cuts, baseball games with no outs, and the continued promise to our kids that they are great at everything.  I learned this skill twice over before I left the house for college.  It's called Racine public schools.  I know an incredible number of successful people who graduated with me and learned realism and resiliency in just the right dose to be awesome adults and parents.
• Appreciating simple pleasures: Finding meaning and joy in the small details in life.  Some of my favorites? Getting a cheeseburger that looks just like picture, and nearly anything with polka dots.
• Valuing a good mix tape: Music reduces anxiety, which is a great reason to "soundtrack your life."  The young folks of the world may know this as a "playlist," but the careful craft is still the same.  Except for when I had to stop, start, and rewind cassette tapes, that was the best worst thing ever.

These are small things, that add up to a big change in expectations and happiness.  If you are looking for some inspiration try just one happy habit, and really stick to it.  See if it works.  You can even borrow my cassette deck if you need to.

Thanks for the inspiration, even though you didn't know it.

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There has been no better compliment in the world than someone telling you a statement that started with the phrase, "You inspired me to..."  For me, it has sometimes been just a small comment, like, "You've inspired me to wear more bright colors" or, "You are the reason why I started [fill in the blank]."  If that isn't quiet validation for how you live your life, I don't know what is.

I don't live my life for others, but it is always encouraging to know when I may have inspired something in someone else's life.  Over the course of years though, I remember very vividly the impactful moments when someone spoke to me with a phrase starting with, "You inspired me to..."  Every single one of them.

This helps me think about what I might be doing in my life that is inspiring someone right now without my knowing, and that helps remind me that I better be giving my best effort.  I better go work out, I better be a nice person, and I better be a leader in my work.  I do these things for me, and I do these things for that person who might get inspired.  I don't do these things for anyone else.

I think it is important to pay homage to the people who have quietly inspired me, and that I have probably forgotten to tell them that they made an impact.

• To the news anchors, musicians, and business leaders who keep it real and are successful by being themselves instead of somebody else. Rachel Maddow, Zooey Deschanel, Sheryl Sandberg, you inspire me that success doesn't have to look like someone else's design.
• To so many of my friends and my sister that are awesome at being moms among many other things, you inspire me by making it look easy when I imagine that it is not.  At all. But worth it.
• To my choice few and impactful work mentors, you inspired me with persistence.
• To my parents, you inspire me with your adult wisdom and I have realized it is totally okay that I am becoming just like you in my old age.
• To my friends with awesome blogs (Victor, Kate, Kathryn and Michelle), you inspire me to provide a platform for the things that I enjoy, because chances are someone else will too.
• To my husband, who inspires me and lifts me up so often, I can't even categorize it.

Share the impact and tell someone about their impact on you.  They don't know that they inspired you, just like you never know who you may inspire.

Public safety announcement: Protecting yourself from a gnome attack

Via amazon.com

This may be the most critical piece of advice that anyone can give you, so pay attention.  If you haven't been protecting yourself from a possible gnome attack, you are behind the curve.  Everyone is prepared for the zombie apocalypse at this point, those are general public skills in this age.  If you want a sporting chance against the gnomes, read on.

Chuck Sampuchino has written a comprehensive manual for how to protect yourself from a gnome attack, and it is knowledge to live by.  Here are a few of my favorites tips that you can find in the book, How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack:

1. Know the risk factors: You live by the woods, or your routine leaving and returning to the house is predictable.
2. See the warning signs: Look for garage tools out of place or stones being moved making a signal to other gnomes.
3. Preventative measures: Learn how to add motion lighting, build a moat, or the proper way to reach into your mailbox as to not be attacked from the inside.
4. Crisis strategies: Practice exiting your house from a first floor window or attacking from a sleeping position.

Good night and good luck.

Via philcomer.blogspot.com

Making the forgotten visible again: An uplifting video

This video from YouTube is incredible.  I originally saw this via upworthy.com, in a post written by Adam Albright-Hanna last year.  According to Albright-Hanna's post, the project translated as "I Am Here" was created by college students to help make dogs that are usually ignored more visible.  The balloons have translated phrases like "play with me" and "don't leave me."  I love the reactions of the people, and this brings me joy for the dogs. 

Thank you to Kathryn Grady for sharing this video with me!
Alternative link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU_3I24KkPM

Vending machines giving you two things instead of one, and other awesome things.

Via Amazon.com

Some days I get very excited that there are other people in the world that appreciate the awesomeness of some of the little details in life.  I am glad that Neil Pasricha already wrote this book and his website so that I don't have to, and I can just enjoy his awesome things.  And they totally are.  Here are some of my favorites from the book:

• Fixing electronics by smacking them: This makes you feel "handy" and smart.  Of course, this is the way I fix all of my electronics, so I know how awesome the feeling is when an epic smack fixes the problem.  The only other alternative, obviously, is putting your electronics in rice.
• That friendly nod between strangers out doing the same thing: I love nodding when I am out running and I make a running friend for a quick second.  It is nice to get support, and it is short enough that they don't find out I am a complete fraud running on sausage legs.
• Perfectly toasted toast: I do not need to explain this.
• Watching The Price is Right when you're at home sick: There is something about a sick day that makes TPIR so much more rewarding.  All of the sudden I am an expert on the cost of Chevrolets and trips to Greece.
• Planning for snoozes: My husband might disagree with this, but I plan a solid 30 minutes into my morning for snoozing.  That's about four extra alarms going off, but I squeeze every last minute of sleep out.  He hates it, and I am amazed he puts up with it.

Check out 1000 awesome things for some more, including:

• Watching seniors do water aerobics
• When a stranger laughs at a joke between you and a friend
• The first warm day of spring
• Car dancing
• The person lying down at the front of the sports team photo

If you aren't taking the time to enjoy these things in your life, you are missing out!  Take a second to slow down and appreciate.

A blog about blogs. Blogs better than this one. You're welcome.

I am really enjoying reading some of my favorite sources for eye candy and inspiration because I am always comforted to find other people that think or feel in the same bizarre way that I do, or that I can look up literally anything.  The hubs and do about 15 combined searches a day on Wikipedia. 

Since one of my best hobbies is napping, I sometimes need inspiration for living the full life.  Here are some of my new and old favorites to read to ensure we are L-I-V-I-N.

Snippet and Ink: For the best eye candy, wedding or otherwise, check out Kathryn's blog.  The only downside about it is that I wish I could plan a wedding once a month.  There has never been better inspiration boards in the history of blogging, and this is the essence of style over just fashion.

Coco+Kelley: Speaking of style, not just fashion, I love to read Cassandra Lavalle's blog so that I can dream about being that put together.  I use her blog to peer pressure myself into taking my hot mess down a few notches.

Victor Schueller: For positivity and self help, I must recommend my friend Victor.  First, he is one of the most positive and genuine people that I know, so his attitude is legit.  When I listen to his radio podcasts for guest appearances, I am often like, oh, I don't buy into that shenanigans.  And then I am like, huh, good point.  Positude, people.

Jen Lancaster and Jenny Lawson: Jen Lancaster and Jenny Lawson's blogs, while not related, offer enough sarcasm, swearing, and better-than-fiction stories than I could ever live in a lifetime.  And believe me, I am trying to keep up.  These are for a good laugh and when your positive attitude is even annoying you.

Rick Steves' Travel Blog: Rick Steves is one magoo dude, but damn if he isn't always right.  Don't travel to Europe without Rick Steves and a nerdy back pack that you only wear with one strap.  Apparently, that is Rick's preferred method of travel, with backpack circa 1987.

22 Words: Random, fun and quirky inserts of things you never knew you needed. But you TOTALLY do.

Don't get me wrong, I am keeping up my black-belt napping skills.