Day 3 of SNOW

I know people are mocking Seattle. But we have gotten more snow in a day than we usually do in a year. It is a giant ice skating rink and the coldness bites your bones. We have two more snow storms and I am so over it. The sleep deprivation from the overnight at work has taken its toll. I am just hoping I can keep being positive at work. I think that is the hardest part– maintaining my sanity being so tired. (There is really only one person I want to push over in the snow and lock the doors!)

I am so tired I am waiting as long as I can to go to bed. A 7:00pm bedtime tonight? That seems okay to me! 7 days in a row of work… 4 more to go. I deserve an early bedtime!

Snow-mageddon:

The sleep over at work has been so much fun. It was nice to be told it wouldn’t have been as fun if I weren’t around. I am glad I could provide some stress relief for the staff who sacrificed and stayed overnight. I work with such a great team! A coworker and her husband left for work early today so they could try and find breakfast for those of us who stayed.

Leave it to me to fall flat on my face in the snow. A coworker even caught the photographic evidence…. because if there isn’t a picture, it didn’t happen, right? (There is another of my face in the snow…)

Today I thought I would take a whack at starting up my Bullet Journal again. I have not touched one since the beginning of 2015. This has been a fun project so far!

 

#bulletjournal #plannergirl #planneratheart #happyheart #thehappyplanner #happynotes

Snow-ocalypse

If you haven’t heard about it, the Seattle area is experiencing a snow-ocalypse. My town is all HILLS. Every direction I go it has a hill making it near impossible to get anywhere, let alone out of my driveway. I work at a memory care facility as a life enrichment director and help provide care for these sweet seniors. We can’t just stay home for work. Many of us packed to spend the weekend at work knowing not everyone would make it. WAY TO BE PROACTIVE! I not only packed… I PACKED. On my day off I am currently sitting at the front desk making stickers for my planner watching the snowflakes fall. I think I packed enough supplies to get through spring in my planner. I am here for the long haul.

There is just something so stress relieving about doing creative things. I love that I now have the desire and time to do this again!

 

2 down…

…3 to go. I love Christmas. I really do. I love the twinkling lights and the music. But putting up Christmas trees is a pain. I feel it is important for every neighborhood to have a Christmas tree. My residents deserve to see those twinkling lights in every room. They deserve to feel the magic of the season. So, this year I will smile while snapping together trees, while fluffing the branches, and while wrapping the lights.

I will be happy to do this for my oldies. This may be their last holiday season. They deserve the happiness.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hate holidays. Next year I have a feeling I will like them so much more.

I need to be thankful though. I am thankful for my family, for my job, for the LeGrande family, for the Hart family, for the Crutchfield family, for Cara, for my job, for my oldies, for my health, for my intelligence (on most days). I am just grateful.

I wanted to create a new habit of journaling/blogging everyday. So this is today’s attempt. I am shooting for 21 days of digital journaling before I start handwritten journaling.

P.S. Please enjoy Maple for a second day in a row. He got dressed up for the holiday. Hmm… might need to start making bunny outfits. Can you say Santa Bunny???

Happiness Day 7- Just Get To It

I did not sleep well last night. I tossed and turned and was just restless all night long. I have all of these little holiday projects at work that are really stressing me out. I met up with one of my previous volunteers from the assisted living facility where I worked for most of my working career. It was such a good dinner and so much fun catching up. There was laughter, there was tears… you know, the usual. It got me thinking today about that stress last night. I have been so lucky to always have people in my corner to do these crazy projects with. These projects are supposed to be fun and I need to let go of the stress and just enjoy the season and the fun these surprises will create. I know they will get done so I am just going to be happy, smile, and get to it.

And if you are curious about these projects: we are making a 2’ by 4’ gingerbread scene and two 6 feet tall Nutcrackers….

What’s Stopping You?

Today while leading activities, the above quote was mentioned. I loved it… and told my oldies I needed to write it down so I remembered it. They always laugh when I write things down, only because they get it.

After reading that quote, one of my residents asked if I said hi to strangers. I couldn’t say yes. I find myself staring at my feet when I am in public and avoiding eye contact with the strangers that could be my friends. It reminded me of a little experience yesterday. After lunch in Bellevue, we were leaving the parking garage as a lady was crossing the street. She was smiling. Not just smiling, but grinning. She wasn’t wearing headphones, she wasn’t on a phone, she was just smiling. I said, “Man! She is happy to be alive. Why can’t I be that happy?” I discussed this with my residents. What stops us from smiling ALL THE TIME? We made a list. A rather long list of reasons why. I then erased it wrote the question on the bored again and asked one more time what stops us from smiling all the time. Before anyone could remake the list, one of my little old ladies called out, “Nothing!”.

How true is that? Nothing is stopping me from smiling all the time and saying hi to my future friends/strangers. Tonight on my way home I drove with a BIG smile on my face. I wasn’t listening to music, I wasn’t talking on the phone… I was just smiling. I looked to the left at a stop light to see a lady pointing at me and I waved. Mr. Rogers was right. At that moment, my red light stranger was a friend.

Happiness Day 5

I have never considered myself an artistic person. Creative, yes. Artistic, no. When I transferred to Aegis of Kent, we restarted doing weekly art lessons with my memory care seniors. It was a stretch and at first hard. After commuting for 4 years I kind of lost touch with hobbies and things I liked to do. It has been hard to get in touch with that again. I told myself I wanted to learn to be artistic, or at the very least to enjoy it. I am lucky to work for a company that is dedicated to bringing life enriching experiences to our seniors. Friday I went to a regional training where we experienced art. White chalk/pencils, watercolor pencils, and canvas rolls. It is so encouraging to receive training and support. I can not wait to bring these mediums to my seniors, AND to experiment more with them myself.

Happiness Day 4

My best friend said there are pretty much four levels of creativity. Below Standard, Normal Standards, Above the Standards, and Laura Standards. She said most people like to one up others but I “two up” people. This year for our family holiday party at work I am doing “fancy” invitations. It makes me happy to do things creative. Especially for others.

Right Place Right Time

Happiness Day 3

This makes me happy! I mentioned yesterday service makes me happy, but serving those who are important to me is even better. I work for Aegis Living and they featured one of my dear residents and myself today. I work for a company that challenges us to create magic moments.

It is a challenge that has changed and impacted my life for the best.

I am lucky!

And, it makes me laugh that I was hashtagged as a millennial. There is so many stigmas associated with millennials. I do not feel I am a normal millennial BUT I hope I can be an example to other millennials.