City of Angels - 30 Seconds to Mars

About 3.5 months ago I put myself to the test and decided to do the "100 days of happy challenge" via Instagram. I wanted to do it because sometimes I feel like life, and people, often try to get the better of us. It/they think that if one thing is "off" then we're automatically miserable. This isn't the case and, for me, hasn't ever really been the case. I very much try to keep all aspects of my life in their own area. work stays with work, relationships stay with their own relationships, and so on.

I know that if we try and look for one good thing in the day it can change your whole outlook. The goal with me was to not put so much of an effort in trying to find the one thing just so I could get it over with. It was all about enjoying the little things and at the end of the day being overwhelmed with gratitude because hey, life is pretty swell.

I'm a happy person. I try to be positive and optimistic and maybe I have it easy because I have a lot of good things going for me. But it hasn't always been flowers. I obviously have bad days but in the end we all control our attitudes.

You get what you put in and I am really happy that I stayed consistent in my postings because now I have over 3 months of memories and the knowledge that there is always good if you allow it.

I put together a little video with all the pictures I posted in the 100 days. (It's below, I'm still learning how to make my posts snazzy.) I decided on City of Angels as my background song because first, this band and song are aaahhhhmazing. Secondly, it's all about LA. Even though I was young when we moved to Utah California will always be a home to me. That west side state has a way of bringing me to life. It makes me... happy.

I Go Back - Kenny Chesney

“We all have a song that somehow stamped our lives; Takes us to another place and time.”

I am eternally grateful for the connection I have always had with music. How a simple melody with words can resurface so many emotions and memories. Along with hearing some tunes I also love how various smells can gently pick you up and drop you into a whole different world. Today I wanted to expound on something that happened earlier this week when I was mentally taken to a different time.

I was getting ready for bed one night and I was feeling a little chilly so I asked Zack to grab me another blanket. He ended up grabbing one that belonged to my Nana. He put it over me and I was talking to Padfoot when I got a whiff of a familiar smell. I stopped mid-sentence and looked questioningly at the blanket. Then I sniffed the blanket. It was the same smell from so long ago. It was my grandma’s house.

In my mind I moved myself to years prior when I would spend nights at my grandma’s and she would tuck me in. Obviously I started bawling but the memory of her and the constant love was so sweet.

I don’t know how that blanket had that scent. My Nana has been gone for just over 3 years and since then the blanket has been in basements, boxes, those vacuum storage bags, just numerous places that should have removed any history. It was nothing shy of a combination of luck and a small miracle that the smell remained.

As unexpected as it was I’m happy it happened. I had been kind of going through a hard time with my emotions earlier that week. I was full of questions and curiosity and a whole lot of missing some loved ones. I have never been able to express how much complete adoration I have for my Nana but being able to experience whatever it was that happened the other night was, to me, magic. It was almost like a little nudge from my Nana saying, “I’m still here and everything is fine.” It brought me so much comfort because it is exactly what I needed to hear.

 

Sorry, Blame It On Me - Akon

This is gonna be an awkward post....

I come to you all with my head hung in shame because apparently I was lying through my fingers when I promised I'd be blogging frequently.....I know I have countlessly decreed that I was going to be on top of my game when it came to this part of my life and time after time I fail. All I can is, I'm sorry. Also, that failure leads to success!!

I don't know what happened. Life got busy then I sort of just.... forgot.

Recently, however, my life has taken many (many) (oh and did I say MANY) turns and I have the desire and need to document what's been going on. Change is always great but you don't realize how big of an impact things have until you look back and reread or reminisce about what used to be.

So, while this is just a short posting it comes with a small challenge to myself.... at least 1 blog entry a week. I'm going to try and do more but I'm not going to overwhelm myself. :)

Please Note: I am posting this passage on to BOTH of my blogs. Change awaits the both of them. (They are a little dated.)