Sunday Seven 08

Sunday Seven
(and alliteration edition!)

I've been taking it way easy these past few weeks, drinking orange juice, blowing my nose a lot and reading books. Oh, I've also been working and whatnot. But not writing. And barely thinking. Anyway, here's that I loved this week!!!

♥ Simply Orange juice

♥ sick days

♥ SPRING

♥ Silly glasses

♥ staying in bed

♥ sleeping in the middle of the day

♥ Saturday pay

Things To Do When You're Sick

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Things To Do When You're Sick

* drink a lot of Simply Orange juice
* catch up on blogs
* send someone a care package (and keep the germs away from it!)
* watch an extra lot of TV
* watch New Moon (or really, catch up on movies)
* IM people on facebook/ google chat
* drink a lot of Apple Cider Vinegar mixed with water
* eat Popsicles
* write silly lists
* track down the last name of an old old friend
* take many showers
* look up yoga poses for Bronchitis (or whatever illness it is perceived that you have)
* attempt yoga poses (I haven't done this part, yet...)
* think about eating lots of fruits and vegetables
* feel bad that it's sunny outside and you're home and your dog has those puppy dog eyes and you can't take him for a walk because by the time you pass your neighbour's house you'll probably be out of breath
* wish you weren't out of breath so you could clean your room
* buy new books and read them
* give yourself a manicure
* don't change out of pajamas
* complain on facebook about how terrible you feel
* take some more naps
* watch music videos on youtube
* make smoothies
* blow your nose even though there's nothing to come out
* do a lot of coughing
* cut back on talking
* take lots of ibuprofen
* look up ideal computers on the internet (because youve spent so much time on your laptop you are typing faster than the screen can show the letters you type)
* wish there was a lot more ice cream in your freezer than there is (read: none)
* bribe people to buy you orange juice
* reschedule all of your plans indefinitely
* go to the doctor and tell them what your diagnoses is
* take extra vitamins (and realize you should always be taking them)

Book Suggestions

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I have piles of books in my room, a small stack in my personal drawer at work and a line of them in the back seat of my car. I've been rereading my favourites and ignoring the books I own that I've yet to read. And still I find myself at Borders too frequently to even count, wondering what I can read today. So I'm asking for book suggestions. My personal Penny suggested Steinbeck's East of Eden, so that's on my list. I just bought The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addisen Allen.

A few other books on my to read list:
Some Place to be Flying (I'm actually half way through...) - Charles de Lint
Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
Geek Love - Katherine Dunn

So tell me, what books should I add to my must read list?

Breathe Me

Breathe Me

Help, I have done it again
I have been here many times before
I hurt myself again today
And, the worst part is there's no-one else to blame

Be my friend
Hold me, wrap me up
Unfold me
I am small
and needy
Warm me up
And breathe me

Ouch

I have lost myself again
Lost myself and I am nowhere to be found,
Yeah I think that I might break
Lost myself again and I feel unsafe

Be my friend
Hold me, wrap me up
Unfold me
I am small
and needy
Warm me up
And breathe me

Good evening! I am sick this evening and about to curl up into bed and hope that sleep will come and make me well enough to work two jobs tomorrow. Yes, silly me decided to go back to scooping ice cream as well as my current salary job. I love it. But I don't really love all the hours. Regardless, I thought I'd post a song in my absence. I was recently made away of this song earlier over dinner with my friend Krista. I think it's very pretty and the lyrics are relatable, at least during certain times of life.

Song by Sia. I haven't had the chance to look at the site just yet, beyond just the main page. But it does look festive and colourful! Watch the video here.

xoxo,
Melanie

You Ought To Love Your Job

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You Ought to Love Your Job

It's hard, I know. The "daily grind" takes over, boring us while we pay pills, mow the lawn and struggle to find the energy to cook dinner. Suddenly it's months later and you feel as if you haven't accomplished anything except paying those bills and passing time. All of a sudden you're twenty-five (or older! insert your crisis age here) and you're paying school loans even though your current occupation has nothing to do with even attending college.

Or is it just me?

You find yourself dealing with the mythical (and yet very real) quarter-life crisis and you don't even have the money to buy that Harley like your dad did during his midlife.

You ought to love your job. Most people settle for misery because it is work. A paycheck is involved, this economy doesn't want you to work. I'll be the first to admit I don't love my job, but luckily I don't hate it. I've had my fair share of lying managers, drama filled co-workers and sexual harassment.

Despite all of this, (though luckily my current job lacks all of the aforementioned drama) there are moment while I'm at work that I feel very grateful for where I am. It has nothing to do with the paycheck (although I am also very grateful to have a job) or the benefits (again, I couldn't appreciate this more), the enjoyment I get from my job have everything to do with simple occurrences during the day.

Here are a few examples of those times during my day when I feel as if I absolutely love my job: when my manager is in a super good mood, when the bank buys is lunch, every time I finish reading a novel or a writing a blog entry, the house lunches I spend exploring downtown, extremely grateful customers, sweet old ladies, when a customer brings in hot chocolate, when I am able to finish drafting a letter or complete a Moleskine or make after-work plans with co-workers. We won a "display" contest for the current free gift and I absolutely love when amazing songs come on the work radio (it consists of the best combination of Elton John, Lady Gaga, Counting Crows and Plain White T's).

So here's the deal; forget for the moment about why you hate our job or what you'd rather be doing. Instead focus right now on what you love about your job, and let me know. I'd love to hear it.

Ten Ways to Make Your Work Day Brighter

Ten Ways to Make Your Work Day Brighter

Wear perfume you really love.

Write anonymous notes to your co-workers.

Put extra special love and yumminess into your bagged lunch.

Wash your face on one of your breaks. Exfoliate and tone, or use a face mask during your lunch.

Suck on chocolate covered altoids.

Make a list of your favourite customers / co-workers / people.

Pin up an inspiring picture, or a photograph of someone you love by your work space.

Match your nail polish to your shirt every day.

Take a "smoke break" and stretch your muscles or do a few yoga poses.

Bake something at home and bring it in to share with everyone.

A Sort of Confession

A Sort of Confession

Penny Days is about HAPPINESS. It's about finding it and creating it and living a life worth living. It's about the magic in every day life, the same magic we are often too busy or too absorbed or too blind or too confused or too sad or too anything else to see. It's about taking that feeling you get from reading an incredible piece of fiction and manifesting it into your real life. It's about how I am managing to do these things.

So now for my confession; I am not happy. I've been struggling with depression and anxiety for years and only recently have I begun to heal from these struggles. I don't intend to post entries that are simple ranting about my problems, nor do I wish to explain how my depression is not circumstantial (a fact I had to explain to my baby brother a month ago when I tried to confess to him that the medication I was on was just not working). He's twenty-one by the way and not so much a baby at all.

The reason I'm bringing this up is to come clean, so to speak. I have no interest in pretending I am someone I'm not, and I want to reflect that my hope for this blog is that it motivates me to find happiness and to be happy and to create magic and love every day. I also hope you'll join me on this journey and maybe even benefit yourself.


♥
Melanie

Things That Might Make Me Feel Better

Things That Might Make Me Feel Better

This was a list I found in my Moleskine, not intended to be used as any sort of blog post but I believe it's a good example and representation of who I am and also who I want Penny Days to be. This blog is designed to be a reflection of myself, but also I want it to be so much more than that. I want it to be documentation of how I change and how I become (become who? you ask! Why I'm not sure yet. It's all part of the process!). But I also want it to be something that you can read and relate to. I want it to be a resource for someone who might be going through something similar to what I am going through. So I made this list as a reminder of things that I love and things that I can do to help bring myself out of the ruts that I get into. My problem is that I never really feel like doing anything when I'm sad or anxious or overwhelmed. But right now, I am just focusing on the list.

Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream
Hiding out in libraries
Bying a new book
Taking Chance for a walk
Going out to dinner with a friend
White Zinfindel
Reading blogs
Yoga
Naps
Manicures
Swimming
Make a mix CD
Write a letter to someone I haven't heard from in a while
Read a book by SARK
Make lists
Listening to music
Leave love comments on Facebook
Cover myself in glitter
Do handstands
Spend time with a toddler

Do you have a go-to list of things that cheer you up? What are your favourites?


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Saturday Seven 07

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♥ Saturday Seven ♥
A whole lot of lovin' this week...

♥ Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland
♥ Phone calls from my friend Juli who I haven't heard from since November
♥ Watching Trent (My friend Ari's two year old boy) experience Indian food (mostly he just ate rice/ spilled it all over himself and the floor)

♥ Pushing Daisies, which happens to be one of my all time favourite television shows. During one of the extras, Bryan Fuller (the creator) mentions that he's a huge fan of Amelie, which explains where a lot of the aesthetics from the television show come from.
♥ Buying a yoga mat - I am one step closer to taking classes!
♥ Impromptu sleepovers in the middle of the week -- especially when they include make your own ice cream sandwiches and Indian food for dinner
♥ All right, Indian food has to go on here. My favourite meal would be: Vegetable Samosas, Garlic Naan, Chicken Tikka Marsala with a Mango Lassi to wash it all down. I've currently been craving Indian more than normal lately.

We will return to our regularly scheduled programs on Monday, which will include semi-regular blog postings from now on. But in the mean time... what did you love this week?

♥
Melanie