Everyone Loves a Boston Girl

Oh, hi. Vacation took longer than I thought. Well, I’ve been home, of course, but after taking so many days off from work, I’ve been trying to work my butt off to play catch up. Freelancing will do that to you. If you don’t do the work, you don’t tend to get paid. And I kind of need to get paid so I can do the little things like paying my rent. Not to mention, I have another little thing called GRAD SCHOOL LOANS that I have to start paying back in, oh, 4 days. Not freaking out at all or anything. Not at all. (hides under bed and starts crying for the next 20 years).

Once again, all I can say is thank God I love my work, because I’d probably have killed myself by now if I didn’t. Anyway, vacation was just lovely, thanks for asking. It was such the break I needed and gave me lots of time to hang with my parents and my fave aunt and uncle. I got some sun, did some reading (Sarah Lacy’s Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good, David Sedaris’s When You Are Engulfed in Flames, and Chelsea Handler’s Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea- don’t laugh, I’m obsessed with her), and pretty much ate tons of food while moving as minimally as possible (don’t judge, it’s not called a vacation for nothing).

Other than working, I’ve only been dog-sitting a total of 3 times since I have returned from vacation. I got back from another stint today and realized that I might possibly be a semi-good mom someday (far and long away) because I dealt with a sick little baby dog. Not the most fun thing in the world, but I love that little pup, so it was OK. Also, it’s kind of nice to wake up every morning cuddled up with my arms around something (someone?). Yes, Mitzi sleeps in bed cuddling with me. Cissy sleeps on the other side of the bed but prefers not to cuddle too much. Omg I sound like a crazy dog lady right about now. Stopping.

I’m sure there’s more to share, but I will do so slowly so as not to write a massively long post and then wait another 2 weeks before posting again. And now. I must log-in to my Google Reader, which I’ve been so expertly avoiding for a very long period of time. I’m scurrred.

If you didn’t see my query on We are not Martha, I would LOVE it if you could check out Guidespot (if you haven’t already) and comment or e-mail you with your feedback for the site. If you like it, if you don’t, how it could be made better, all that fun stuff. Would you use it as a city resource? Why or why not? I need your feedback pretty much ASAP (you can comment or e-mail me) and am soo thankful for your help! Seriously, you guys are the best.

Gosh, I’ve missed this blogging thing!!

A little under the weather, but Mitzi is still cute as usual.

P.S. Did you know that when you have over 1,000 items on your Google Reader, it just says 1000+?? Now you do. Going to pour myself another cup of coffee.

After an extremely busy and somewhat crazy week, I am off on vacation! SO excited to spend a few days relaxing. Hopefully sitting by the pool a lot and getting some nice sun. And catching up with all my relatives. And reading one of the six books I bought for my trip (yeah, we’ll see how many I get through). And loving the fact that I don’t have Internet, so it’s not possible for me to do too, too much work (though I’ll still have e-mail on my Blackberry and appreciate some contact with the outside world).

When I arrive home, it’s back to dog-sitting. I know. I may as well adopt those pups as my own. It can be tough work, but I love them so it’s all worth it (wow, I sound like I have children or something. Ew).

And for you Bostonians who haven’t heard, we’re all meeting up on Friday night for a little fun, so let me know if you want to come and I’ll send you over the official invite.

But for now…I just turned on vacation-mode.

I’m one of those people who is generally always happy. I try my best to keep my stress levels low and do everything in my power to stay content. This most definitely doesn’t mean I don’t feel stress (oh believe me, I do) and it doesn’t mean I don’t ever cry or feel pain. It means that when given the choice over happiness and despair, I always choose happiness. Because, why wouldn’t I?? I think this annoys some people who wonder why I’m always positive. And worries others, like my mother who sometimes wishes I would express a little more panic in certain situations.

I’ve been talking a lot recently about how it’s possible to just be happy and I had a hard time putting it into words. I guess I just feel like, though my life isn’t perfect, it’s good enough that I have no business not being happy. Most things in life usually work out. I’m a better problem-solver when I’m not completely stressed and panicked. And when I look back at my life, I want to remember being happy, not being sad and blahh. I think I am especially prone to stress and anxiety and I quickly realized that if I didn’t do anything to stop this, I would constantly be a huge mess. So I stopped it. I really think we are in complete control of our moods (obvious exceptions include clinical depression and things of that nature) and I choose to be happy.

I just read this Prevention article about how to be happy and realized that I actually do participate in most of the habits they suggest. For instance:

1) They work their cell phones- This doesn’t mean I’m on my phone 24/7, but it does mean I have a thriving social network. If I’m feeling down, I know I can always find a friend or family member willing to chat with me on the phone. And if that fails, the blogging/online social network is a tremendous place of support. I truly never have to be alone unless I want to be. Even just reading the stories of people who have similar problems to you has the power to make you happier. Finding people to connect with is the most important thing in the world.

2) They express gratitude (within reason)- According to the article, “People who write about all the things they are thankful for are optimistic about the upcoming week and more satisfied overall with their lives…” Oooh hi, see! Another reason blogging is completely awesome and is helping us all be happy. I’ve been keeping journals since the day I turned 7 (no lie) and writing about my happiness definitely makes me even more happy.

3) They’re randomly kind- I don’t think I’m really a huge giver of random acts of kindness, but I like to think I’m kind and of course I know that being nice makes me happy.

4) They reappraise their lives- This is about writing again. Or mentally revisiting an event. The article says, “Perhaps now that a few years have passed, you’ll be able to see how that breakup or failed job opportunity opened other doors and finally forgive yourself–and your ex-boyfriend…Even if a memory is painful, it’s good to work through it…If you can come to terms with past events, you’ll be better able to handle tough times down the road.” I am 100% a believer in this. Of course I was angry when the ex and I broke up, but now I sometimes feel like calling him to thank him because I see what a better person I am now. Coming to terms with things and seeing the bright side of them is SO important for happiness.

Happiness isn’t going to find you. You just need to be happy, and you will be happy. It’s that simple.

“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” ~Abraham Lincoln