The Flipped Side

So I know my posts of late have been all serious and heavy. I promise I'm not all serious and heavy all the time, it's just those feelings that always prompt me to write.

So here's what's making me happy these days (because I am very, very happy!)

Working Out. I am fully recovered from my holiday gluttony and hitting new highs in my workouts that I never imagined I could hit in my wildest dreams. I have been running and keep reaching and surpassing my goals (I can run 9.3 mph for a full 2 minutes. When I first started running I was lucky to make it past 5mph). I lift weights and enjoy the strength I get from it, both mentally and physically. I am totally addicted to the endorphins. I challenge anyone to come up with a better feeling in life than a hard core workout followed by a hot shower. I'm looking at running another 5K soon. I am so so happy that my body has somehow allowed me to run again after years of battling tendonitis.

Work. To be quite honest, I'm not working much. It is a very slow time of year for my business, and the work I do have I am having a really hard time getting motivated for. But being in a creative field, I'm finding my creative spark start to return (it always seems to die during the busy holiday rush) and I'm producing work that I am really proud of.

Music. Mr. Wonderful and I have been hitting the local music scene as much as possible, and I can't even tell you how much I have enjoyed this. The week before I met him, I wrote about wanting to get into the local music scene (which is, as you may recall, how I met him...at a music festival). We now have countless concerts on our upcoming schedules, and it just makes me giddy. Last week we saw a band I'd never heard of in a tiny little lounge. I probably would never listen to their music otherwise, but I just love watching musicians perform their own music live. It's fascinating, invigorating, inspirational. Then there are the concerts of the bands I am absolutely in love with, where the music they play sends me into absolute euphoria.

Food. Another one of my passions. I've made it my goal to try new foods as much as I can. This weekend, I tried octopus. Before that, tuna tartare (we're on an asian cuisine kick). The tartare?? heaven, the octopus, notsomuch. On our list of things to do also is to attend a wine class/tasting. I also have a list of our city's top rated restaurants that I'm trying to check off one at a time.

Movies. I'm still hitting the theater when I can and watching my indie flicks. Because I've had less time to get out of the house, I signed up for netflix too and have been watching those when I can. Actually, right now as I type this, I'm streaming a movie onto my laptop that I've never seen. I do this while I work and it makes working so much more fun :) I'm also hoping to hit the local independent film festival too in just a couple of months.

Kids. My kids are amazing. My son is developing this witty sense of humor. He is so on the verge of teen-hood (he's 11) and while I thought I would hate that, I really enjoy relating to him on this level. My middle daughter is just excelling at everything she puts her mind to, from soccer to school to friends. My youngest daughter is growing up so fast and just makes me laugh hysterically every single day. She loves to snuggle like her Mommy, so we spend lots of time doing just that. All of them have been making strides towards independence, whether it be getting themselves ready in the mornings or sleeping in their own big girl bed, and it has helped me as a single mom so very much.

Here's to making life what you want it to be and enjoying something that makes you happy every single day.