Why I love my job.

Although I worked 9-5 and then kept working all the way until 11pm.

Even though I was gone from Thursday to Sunday with students at NACA.

I didn't actually get home on Monday until 9pm.

And I love my job.

Today part of my job was being present at a fundraiser where 6 excited students held an event that was attended by at least 60 students and raised over $300.

Today part of my job was laying out 5,000 prize-filled eggs on the football field and letting 375 students run and grab as many as they could when the lights went out.

Today part of my job was preparing for a program that could change the way students think about themselves and the world they live in (for the better!).

Today part of my job was being stalked by a student in a bunny suit.

Today part of my job was seeing the look on student's faces when they know the event they put tons of work into was worth it; that it was a job well done.

Bliss is doing what you love and loving what you do.  It is working 13 hour days, and living for the 13 second moments when students are proud of themselves and hopeful for our future.

fail.

So I found out about this really cool idea for April called BEDA: Blog Every Day (in) April.  I thought to myself, "What a great way to make myself commit to blogging.  I love writing and continue to wish for outlets.  I will triumphantly join the BEDA movement!"  


Now, as you may have noticed, today happens to be Tuesday, April 3rd, and here I am. Writing my first blog of the month.  And probably only my 3rd blog of the year.
Fail, indeed.


But today is exciting and hopeful nonetheless.  April 3rd marks 7 months of marriage for me and the hubs. Today marks one month since we moved into our house.  It is also the first time I've gone grocery shopping since we moved into the house.  Let me tell you...that makes for very creative meals.


I'm excited at the prospect of blogging daily about my journey towards joy. I've been noticing lately  that bliss can be uncomfortable and beautiful at the same time, and look forward to contemplating this in the near future.

Productivity on a Tuesday

Being productive is seriously one of the best feelings in the world, yet it's also so hard to be motivated enough to attain it.  Since we moved into our house on March 3rd, I have found a whole new level of motivation to get things done at home that I hadn't experienced in quite a while!

Last night I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to get my gift-buying for the April month out of the way.  Three printed registries, 25 minutes at the check-out register, and 7 beautifully purple-wrapped gifts later, I am ready to give beautiful gifts to some of the loveliest women I know...and their grooms, of course.  

After bridal shopping extravaganza, I headed next door to DressBarn...where not one of the seven dresses I tried on fit.  The woes of being tall.

At home the hubby had bought wood to start our (his...? my list of...?) woodworking projects.  It's from a nearby area that used to be factories and is being renovated to be the Millwork District.  It's old and thick  and has tons of character...perfect for a "farmhouse" kitchen table and bench he's planning for.  Upon getting home I loaded a rice cake with natural peanut butter for dinner, poured a glass of red wine, and set my mind to getting a few small organization projects completed.

Formal dresses moved to empty closet: check.

Shoes arranged on rack in closet by color and style: check. 

Old shoes moved to attic: check.

Spring jackets moved to kitchen closet: check.

2 1/2 loads of laundry: check. (I had to dry the last load overnight...)

Dishwasher loaded and run: check.

Once Upon a Time episode from Sunday: CHECK!  (Warning, tangent ahead: This show is seriously so good...thank you brilliant writers for developing an incredible plot based on stories we're all familiar with and making the show scandel-less!  Three cheers for good ol' clean television.)

Ahh...So glad that I was able to accomplish so much as I look towards being out of town for work all weekend.

Lovin' life, 

Danielle

Why I love Sundays.

There is something indescribable about Sundays.

Maybe it's because it starts with church. 
Honestly, this morning was a doozy until I went to church.  "Accidentally" falling back asleep after the alarm went off, making me in more of a rush than I'd prefer.  Letting myself believe the myth that there was just nothing in my closet at all to wear...completely false reality.  Dropping the mascara wand on either my face or the alarm clock or the mirror or my pants not once, or twice, but a whopping three times...  Having to change my outfit and looking at the clock that read 9:23 and realizing the 9:30 mass we were planning to go to that takes 15 minutes to get to was probably not going to happen.

"Now, wait," you think, "I thought I was going to read about why you love Sundays?"

Ya, getting to that...

I flat out told my husband as he entered our room, fully dressed, in a jacket, ready to walk out the door at 9:15--"This morning sucks."  Immediately, being the wonderful and patient man he is, Brandon starts searching on his phone for masses in the area that start at 10 so that I don't have to feel so rushed.  Seriously, who deserves a husband this great?

Mass was definitely the avenue which completely changed my day around; as receiving the body, soul, spirit and divinity of Jesus should, of course.  The sermon and music were helpful, too.

Sundays are incredible because somehow they feel more relaxing than Saturdays.  Today, after the revitalization of church, we felt no obligations of time or energy.  We knew we wanted to rent The Help because I had just finished reading it on Friday.  We ended up dedicating much driving time going from RedBox to RedBox finding this particular movie (did I mention my husband in patient?)  At Hy-Vee, we found ourselves buying a "celebratory" dinner to make this evening, including a great bottle of chianti, in gratitude that our offer on a house was accepted.  We also bought frozen loaves of bread. (because this girl has never, ever even attempted making bread, so we figured this was a good place to start!)

Sunday means that we can make coffee without a time schedule, watch a movie (a great one, in fact!) in the middle of the day, and cook dinner together.  Sunday means that the house can be picked up, and snooping around pinterest doesn't bring me guilt.  Sunday means "Once Upon a Time" is on and I can squeal and gasp at the tv for an entire hour.

Thank you, Sunday, for bringing so much joy to this cold apartment of ours.

Getting in gear.

The awkward moment when you get "told" by your chiropractor:


Setting: Middle of December, about 3 and 1/2 months since our wedding
Me: My hips have been really bothering me lately...
Dr. C: Are you still doing yoga? When's the last time you worked out?
Me: Well...I haven't actually gone to yoga in a while, and I haven't been to the gym in about 6 months...
Dr. C: I know you were really busy with the new job and getting married...but c'mon. It's been 4 months; the honeymoon period is over and it's time to get it gear and focus.


Whoops. Nothing like being blunt...


Now, I could take this personally and get offended and stomp away complaining that I got called fat and lazy.  But I really don't think he meant it like that.  He's absolutely right: I need focus.  It's so easy to justify week after week that I'm just "too busy" and I want to spend time with my hubs and read the 4 books I'm in the middle of and clean my apartment and get enough sleep, but I'm not really being nice to my body in the meantime.


So as of January 1st I officially spent money to join the gym on campus for 6 months. Translation: I can either officially get my butt on an elliptical OR officially waste lots of money.


New year, fresh start, better focus?
To these I say: "Yes, please!"

Life = perspective.

Isn't it true that so often when we are passionate about something--a cause or effort, changing other's minds on a topic, our involvement with a group or organization--it is our current perspective which fuels that passion?


As a first-year student, I vividly remember getting blindsided by the paradigm shift that my individual perspective truly ruled my life.  How I was raised, where I grew up, conversations with friends, sports teams I was part of, classes I took and the many unique experiences of my life truly have an affect on how I view the experiences of daily life now.  Life is like a staircase, each moment building on the last.  At first I actually felt guilty about this, thinking I was somewhat at fault for not considering other perspectives more often. But, really, using perspective is a good thing. (usually!) It allows us to function in our daily lives, use prior knowledge to make decisions, and form opinions.  


This whole perspective things can also make things pretty tricky sometimes, too.  Huge controversies would come about (and often do!) simply because a person's life was filled with certain pieces and missing others.  


Now, as I reread this, it seems like I'm stating very obvious facts that need not even be thought about.  So, why?  Why have I been pondering the fact that life=perspective for a good 8 years now?  Why did it intrigue me so much when I was only four years old to lay in bed at night and ponder how different I would have been had my parents been different, had I lived in a different state.  Why is this notion so powerful to me?


I think it's really an adventure in empathy.  Instead of writing a person off as "stupid" when they respond poorly to a situation or make a bad decision, I want to know what past experiences they've had to push them to think the way that they do.  Instead of assuming I know what a person is going to do, or how they think, I want to consider my own beliefs and feelings and how they got there.  It's empathetic and compassionate to consider perspective instead of relying on judgement.


---------
Admittedly, posted this about a month after I wrote it.  This topic makes me think really hard for a really long time, and even now I know it is only about 10% of my revelings about perspective.  Truly, thought processes like these really can never be finished, because my perspectives will change and I will learn and grow through them. 


And if the humbling process of life-long learning isn't one of life's joys, I'm not sure what is.

Shadows of Joy

Last night was filled with choosing a few wedding pictures to have printed, both for Brandon and I, and for our parents.  As I was flipping through the thousands of pictures (okay...1200: I rounded up) I was filled with so much joy.  Not only did I think back to how extremely happy I felt on our wedding day, I could see the joy on our faces and on the faces of our families and friends.  What a beautiful, inexplicable, overwhelming happiness it was, knowing that I was officially allowed to spend the rest of my life with a man whom I loved, but who also loved and cared for me in ways I didn't know were possible.  A man who made me want to be a better person, just by being near him.  Surely I floated two feet above the ground, taking in a day full of firsts as man and wife, and continue to as we live life together...

Now, there is a song called "Only a Shadow" that was sung at Chapel about a month ago.  The lyrics to this particular song struck me so much that I still find myself thinking about them, at least four weeks later.  It's about how as much as we love, believe, and dream--it can only ever be a shadow of how God loves us, has faith in us, and dreams things up for us.  

The very last verse of the song looks like this:

The joy we feel today, oh Lord 

Is only a shadow of your joys for us. 
Only a shadow of your joys for us 
when we meet face to face.

I think back to my wedding day and the joy I felt as I walked down that red-carpeted aisle lined with our family and closest friends in a lovely white dress towards the man I love. 

And that's only a shadow? Talk about powerful...

I have tried many times to wrap my head around the capacity of joy available when we meet God face to face if my wedding day was simply a shadow of it.  Attempting to imagine what this must feel like is incredibly overwhelming in an amazing way.  This love, this belief, this dream, this joy cannot be attained or even hypothesized while I am still human.  I do believe, though, that the tiny shadows of joy we experience are truly gifts from God and opportunities to share his love with others.  Everything which is good in my life is just a shadow of what can be in store for me when I meet Him face to face.


...what joy, indeed.