Some Happy {Tears} for a Monday

Happy Monday! I had a lovely weekend of sleeping, making some yummy meals for the coming week, and spending time with my family. The older I get, the more I cherish these laid back, and sometimes lazy, weekends. I could do without the few inches of white stuff we seem to get every morning, but spring is just around the corner :)

Enough of me, I want to share two sweet, and somewhat emotional, videos that I've recently discovered.

I found this video from SoulPancake via Betsy Transatlantically, and it made me smile all day long. It also made me much more aware of the people around me. As I sit in my usual perch at the coffee house, I find myself wondering about the dozen or so strangers around me that all have a story to tell. Watch it, it will make your day and make you realize you can't take everyone at face value. And just maybe it will inspire you to turn a stranger into a new friend, even if only for a few minutes.

A few weeks ago, I also found this video and it made me absolutely melt. This video will break your heart a little bit, but it shows the true strength and love of a family. Get the tissues out, and at the end, you will be so thankful for the family in your life. 

A little too deep for a Monday? Sorry about that. I tried to balance the happiness with the heartwarming/heartbreaking.

If you need a more excitement to help you jump-start the week, head over to visit Meg's Mingle Monday!

It's OK {Valentine}

{Sunrise over the Mediterranean. Valencia, Spain}
It's OK...
...to be relieved that you don't have a Valentine this year. Pepper would be jealous anyway.
...that your favorite part about Valentine's Day are the sweet cards from your Mom and Dad.
...that you always think of February 14th as your mother's birthday first and as Valentine's Day second.
...to have a ferocious craving for a Chipotle steak burrito bowl after you gave up meat for Lent.
...to constantly daydream about tropical beaches and drinks that are served in coconuts. 
...to wear Uggs everywhere so you don't ruin any of your other shoes in the snowy slush that covers all sidewalks and parking lots {thanks, Nemo}.
...to still wear the same slippers for five years because they are so comfy and you can't find any that are quite the same.
...to accidentally put on two different earrings and not realize it until you get to work.
...to have the best intentions to read every night. However, after a week, you are still only on page 3. Sleep always conquers. 

Coffee House

Happy Valentine's Eve!  

While some of you have plans for a romantic night out {or in} with your sweethearts, I have plans to celebrate my mother's birthday with my family and snuggle with my little furball tomorrow night.

In lieu of the traditional Valentine's post, I thought I'd share something that I wrote last June. Last June, you ask? Yes. It was a few months after ending my 6 year relationship. I had just found out a few things that drove away any doubt that I did the right thing in ending it. I spent a few weeks in tears learning of these events, but then woke up one morning feeling completely and utterly happy and content. I had my mourning period - delayed three months and only lasting two weeks - but I had a new sense of clarity. This post is empowering for me, and I hope any of you single, brokenhearted friends out there find some kind of comfort in it. The heart-wrenching pain I felt then dulls in comparison to the happiness I have found in being true to myself and my dreams.
__________________________

I'm sitting at my favorite spot in town. It's a coffee house that used to be an inn. Huge and open with beams and the coziest fireplace, this is where I go when I need to concentrate. Something about the sound of the espresso machine and happy chatter makes for perfect white noise. Maybe it brings me back to the hours I spent in my favorite coffee shop in college writing papers, studying, and more often than not, laughing the afternoon away with my friends.

The funny thing about a building is that so much can happen under one roof, without anyone else being any wiser. My life changed in a big way at this place, and until now, only one other person knew that. His life changed in a big way too that day, in this place. 

It was the last coffee together. The last attempt to have a decent conversation. So much had been said by now. Words that couldn't really be taken back, despite promises that they were never meant to hurt. So many actions that hurt more than words ever could. This was last chance to see if what we had a few years ago had even a flicker of life left in it. 

It didn't. 

We both knew it, knew it for months, but neither one of us would admit it. 

So much had happened, had changed, and our lives were on two very different paths. The life he pictured for himself was one with which I would never be content. The life I am so determined to live was one that he resented. We had nothing in common except for each other.

As I sit here, in the coffee house, looking out the window to the table on the porch where I last went with him, I am having a lot of trouble concentrating, which is the opposite intent of me being here in the first place. For some reason today I can't stop thinking about him, about us, and what we might have been. 

But then I think of what would have been if we had stayed together, and I smile to myself, knowing that my choice to end that chapter was the beginning of a lifetime of adventure.

That day I was hit slapped with a big reality:

True love will not resent and limit your dreams.

Remember that ladies. Or gentlemen. Or whomever might be reading this blog. It is something I already knew, but I didn't fully understand the magnitude of it until that moment.

That day at the coffee house, I finally let my brain and my heart work together, something that I had been preventing for a very long time.  I think my biggest and only regret is that I let myself stay in a situation that was less than desirable for so long when I knew what I should have done months, maybe even years, before. Words can't express the relief that I felt leaving him that day, knowing the fighting, resentment and cutting words were over. Words also can't express the heartache I felt watching him walk away, knowing he would never hold me again or watch me walk down the aisle one day. 

This post isn't at all what I intended to say when I began writing it. I hadn't any intention of sharing anything about my breakup with him. I hope, in some small way, it inspires you to listen to your heart and never settle for anything less than your dreams. 

Be true to yourself, not matter how hard that might be. In the end, the initial pain will dull in comparison to the pain of a life not fully lived. - Michaela's Philosophy of Life, written after hours, days, even months of thought on the matter.

Today, I am happier and more determined than ever to live my extraordinary life, which is what this blog is all about.
__________________________

Sending you all my love this Valentine's Eve.

Love is...

Love is patient, love is kind.

It is not jealous, it is not pompous,

it is not inflated, it is not rude,

it does not seek its own interests,

it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,

it does not rejoice over wrongdoing

but rejoices with the truth.

It bears all things, believes all things,

hopes all things, endures all things.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

{Playing in the snow that Nemo left behind over the weekend. I'm a child at heart.}

This was one of the readings at church a few Sundays ago. I thought it was the perfect timing for this reading. Not only because Valentine's Day is drawing near, but because our world seems to be in desperate need of love lately. So many terrible events that have claimed lives, ruined lives, and caused unimaginable pain and anguish. However, after all these terrible events, the continuous outpouring of love and compassion is always astounding. Love like this should be shown and practiced on a daily basis, not necessarily reserved for times when tragedy strikes.

These verses are also a constant reminder of the love every person deserves. No one should ever settle for anything less. Relationships and people are never perfect, but unconditional love is truly perfect. I've come very close for settling for something that resembled love, but during times of trial {sometimes during everyday life too} it never lived up to this simple description. 

I sat in church smiling last Sunday, because though I've heard this reading dozens of times, I finally understood it. Something so simple held a new world of meaning. It tells me how to love in every aspect of my life. Not just romantically, but towards my peers, my friends, and strangers. It's funny how a few words can open your eyes and your heart. Especially when it's something that you've listened to over and over but never really heard before. My goal for this year is to love. I think my heart was finally ready to understand how I will make that happen.

God works in funny ways.

Things that Make Me Smile

1. A cherry almond chip cupcake for an afternoon treat.

2. Listening to Pepper fake bark in her sleep. I always wonder what she is dreaming of.... 

3. Snow covered houses in the countryside.

4. Spending the evening around a fire catching up with family.

5. Cozy pillows and blankets for a winter day.
6. The slate path at my Grandma's house where I spent many an afternoon playing during my childhood.
7. Neighbors that have a sense of humor and made a watermelon out of a downed tree in my Grandma's yard.

Dear Blizzard?!

{The Halloween Blizzard of 2011. Using my little ragamuffin as a measuring stick.}

Dear Blizzard: I honestly thought you'd be here already. But as I gaze out my window, the only sign of you is the cloudy, grey sky. I have prepared for your arrival in the form of trail mix, Goldfish, a few bottles of wine and lots of clean sweatpants. Dear fellow New Englanders: Please stay safe in the next few days. Dear power: Please stay on. A week without heat and hot water is a very daunting thought. Dear little brother: I really enjoy getting the random text from you while you are at sea. They always surprise me and make my day. Can't wait to see you in a few weeks. Dear cozy bed: I can't seem to climb out of you right now to start my day. I think I'll stay for just a few minutes longer ;)

It's OK

{City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia, Spain - I miss this place every day.}
It's OK...
...to eat that third slice of pizza. It's thin crust, so fewer calories, right? Exactly.
...that a movie can make you shed continuous tears {P.S. I Love You gets me every time}.
...that a commercial involving one pretty adorable Clydesdale can also make you tear up.
...that the previous two items make me sound like a hormonal looney bird.
...that no matter how hard you try, getting up at 5:15 is impossible lately. 5:55 is a much better time.
...that your every intention of making it to a yoga class for the last week has been trumped by work/errands/exhaustion.
...that even though you are tired of winter, you are welcoming tomorrow's blizzard (17-20 inches!) with open arms because you get to work from home.
...to prefer luggage-sized purses, even though all your chapstick and pens seem to disappear into their black abyss.