Is there an insurance that covers stupidity?

Humans never cease to amaze me, more specifically the dumb decisions they constantly make.  These Darwinian errors never seem so apparent as when riding the subway.  I mean I fail to understand why people have to tote their dogs around as an accessory.  What is so ghastly wrong with letting a dog run around and use it's legs?  As far as the advertisement for dog plastic surgery goes...I honestly don't even know where to begin, but sincerely hoped that at some point Ashton Kutcher would pop out and tell me that I had been punked.  What's even worse is that one of the big newspapers recently ran an article on a woman who does everyday chores completely naked - including riding the subway (and that is the last time I will ever sit down in one of the seats).  I truly hope that all I can say is only in New York City...

I think that's a dog...

No, really?!

and then there is no doubt...

 

State of Mind

"Happiness is not a state to arrive at but a manner of traveling."

Despite the fact that I did, in fact, spy this on the front of a Hallmark card, it deeply resonated within me.  It resonated with me so deeply that I actually had to purchase the card so that I could look at it on a regular basis as a positive reminder that life is not about the destination but the journey, and attitude is the compass guiding every step. 

The problem is that life seems to be one constant "to-do" list.  Paradoxically, instead of feeling accomplished every time the tip of a freshly sharpened pencil swishes across the blue-lined page, am overwhelmed by anxiety and stress since the to-do list quadrupled in the amount of time it took to finish that one simple task.

Having taken this past weekend to step back and reflect, the answer is prioritization.  Now to everyone this is a embarrassingly obvious life observation.  What is different, however, is making happiness a priority.  Every day I am constantly focused on what needs to get done, that the things like pleasure reading and learning to speak Spanish are perpetually pushed further and further down the list leaving me miserably surrounded with grown up stuff.  That's not to say that taxes, grocery shopping, and laundry should be forgotten.  There's nothing, however, to stop you from taking 20 minutes to leaf through a trashy magazine or read a chapter from that mystery novel.

When every minute of every day is planned, make sure to schedule time for happiness.

Volunteering with a couple of other paralegals at New York Cares Day

Our finished painting to be hung in the public school cafeteria to help promote healthy eating habits - painting proved to be a pleasantly unexpected calming therapy!

"An analysis of volumes of previous research on the subject shows a strong consensus that volunteering contributes to happiness by decreasing boredom and creating an increased sense of purpose in life.  Volunteers, on average, are twice as likely to feel happy with themselves as nonvolunteers." (Crist-Houran 1996) ~ 100 Simple Secrets of Happy People: What Scientists Have Learned and How You Can Use It (David Niven,  Ph.D"

Mondays (Mornings) Suck

After two short holiday weeks, it's finally time to get started again with a full work week replete with grumpy NYC commuters, significant vitamin D deficiency, and long work hours.  So to help turn my mood around, I've included a couple of snapshots of unintentionally funny advertisements.  Hopefully, they will make you chuckle too!

Picture from a grocery store across the street from my apartment.  Sadly, they can't speak English any better than they can spell it.

If the point is to go all natural, then why are they "changing the meat we eat"?  I feel like this is counterintuitive

Talk about technicalities!  I guess Splenda really is not a sugar, but I still don't see how they can get away with that claim of "no sugar added"

Do NOT underestimate the importance of a good coat...

Christmas has come and gone, but the weather has finally decided to get into the holiday spirit a tad too late and a tad too enthusiastically for my taste. Temperatures have dropped to the low 20s, but the killer is the wind off of the Hudson River, which rips through your skin like the razor sharp teeth of a demoniac ice hound.

That is, unless of course, you have a long winter coat. Gone are the days when a North Face fleece was sufficiently warm while jogging between my car and the garage or high school building.

The keys to staying warm are: a hat (as much as I hate to admit it since hat hair is never a flattering feature on me), a coat that is log enough to cover your butt and thighs (preferably a full length extending all the way down to your ankles), gloves (mittens are actually a thousand times warmer, but am adamant in my refusal to give in on the account that they completely eliminate any dexterity), and foot coverage (lots of women wear black uggs to work for a more inconspicuous appearance, but if you insist on wearing cute flats do so at least with some kind of socks or warm leggings).

As a disclaimer, these are all things that my mother had constantly told me while I was growing up...unfortunately, it took a self-diagnosed case of hypothermia and what felt like (but probably wasn't) frostbite in order for the message to click.

New Year's Resolution 2013

Given my horrific job blogging in 2012, where I averaged maybe one blog per month, have resolved to write a short post each day during the week. The big problem is that my mind sporadically wanders and consequentially try to write a novel in a paragraph...as is happening right now. Guess that is what happens when every day is comprised of 1,440 New York minutes.

More importantly, want to share a recently learned, albeit important lifeskill: how to buy refills. Again, most of these insights are stating the obvious, which is exactly why they are so easy to miss. Case in point - for the past 23.5 years, have always bought one refill after running out of a certain product. The 1:1 ratio seemed the most natural and cost-effective management. Recently, however, have learned the the best way to shop is to buy at least two refills at a time for the following reasons: the product may be discontinued, you may never be able to find that product again, or the store may inconveniently be closed at a time when you most need the refill. Granted, it may be more expensive at the cash register, but it is significantly more convenient to not have to run to the store on a weekly or monthly basis. Plus, over time the amounts are the same costs.

Wishing everyone a safe, happy, and prosperous 2013!