feature post: inward facing girl

I have recently fell in love with a blog, yes it's true. This post had me laughing ridiculously hard because it is something I can totally see myself doing. I've discovered Melanie's blog through endless discussions/emails/collaborations for Alt Summit and I cannot wait to meet her in January! So today as I'm reading through my blogroll, this gem pops up. How could I not read it? That is DENNY FREAKING DUQUETTE. Oh how I loved Denny and how I miss him terribly each day. This post made me feel like he was back again, if even for a moment.


Oh, Denny.

From Inward Facing Girl - Silliness From My Old Life / Letters From Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Please click the link above to read, you'll be glad you did, and while you're there enjoy Melanie's bloggy!

I have to say, most of the gals I work with have been watching Grey's Anatomy with me for years, and whenever one of us comes to work sick, someone, without fail, states: Wait until you start seeing Denny, then you can worry. Oh the sick jokes we come up with.

feature post: SWEATshirt DRESSshirt

image via google images

I came across a post this morning and I felt very compelled to share. I feel stressed out all too often and sometimes it's good to do some little somethings to relieve that. I thought these were some great ideas and I'm really anxious to try them. Big thanks to SWEATshirt DRESSshirt for this post, hope she doesn't mind me featuring it! Her blog is amazing, I'm a huge fan.

From SWEATshirt DRESSshirt - Take Care

As human beings, we can be greatly impacted by even the smallest stressors in our lives. In class yesterday, several of my classmates presented on ways to take care of yourself physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. I thought I would pass what they had to say on to you guys, because after all, too much self-care is never a bad thing.


Physical
•Take a walk, or ride a bike.
•Exercise and stretch at the gym.
•Sit in the sun for 15 minutes.
•Change one thing to improve your diet.
•Take a nap.
•Get a massage.


Emotional
•Take a deep breath and think, "I am calm and peaceful."
•Sing or listen to music you enjoy.
•Hug someone, or ask for a hug.
•Pet your dog or cat.
•Notice what you are feeling several times a day.
•Write a letter to someone who has hurt you, but don't send it.


Mental
•Say an affirmation aloud.
•Read a book or magazine article.
•Express your thoughts or feelings in a journal.
•Make a to-do list.
•List your traits, needs, and wants.
•Make a list of short-term and long-term goals.


Spiritual
•Practice daily quiet time.
•Pray or meditate.
•Write about your spiritual purpose.
•Practice unconditional love with yourself, and others.
•Join a church or support group.
•Study with a spiritual teacher.

I gotta say again, a lot of these I could be doing every day, but don't. I'm going to mark some of these off of my list and see if it helps any of my stress levels. Let me know if any of these work for you!

feature post: love, chelsea lauren

I thought this morning I'd start off with a featured post. I read this post this morning and couldn't believe that it was someone else writing it. I've felt this way almost my entire life and haven't been able to sum it up as well as Chelsea has. It is hard to explain to people that sometimes being totally socially freaks me out. I'd rather hang out with my husband and doggys on my couch. Doesn't mean I'm avoiding anyone, feel free to come over. Sometimes I do have the urge to go out and be very social, it's rare, but it happens and in those times I try to take complete advantage of it because I don't know when the feeling will come around again.

If given the choice I'll take movie and takeout on your couch or mine over going to a club. I'm not really shy but I usually come off shy or uninterested if I go out in large groups of people I don't know and I'm feeling uncomfortable about it. A lot of people often take this personally and I really wish that wasn't the case so I'm hoping in reading this it might shed some light on why I am the way I am. I'm not opposed to meeting new people at all, I just can't be myself if I'm not in a comfort zone.

I hope you take the time to read this post, it was a wonderful explanation.

From Love, Chelsea Lauren: Honesty Time - On Being An Introvert



I am twenty-three years old. When most people think of twenty-three year olds, they think of social butterflies--people who are happy to go out on the weekends and meet tons of new people; who thrive on going to parties and expanding their social circle.

That is not me.

I've never really had an easy time making friends -- I was never able to explain why, but I hated being surrounded by people I didn't know, I hated making "small talk" and forced niceties, and I hated the feeling I got when I didn't know what to expect going into a situation. What was worst about this whole situation is that I started to hate myself for not being like everyone else -- for lacking that charm that most girls seemed to have naturally. I managed to get by in school because I kept similar friends throughout my years there, but as you can imagine, this was a NIGHTMARE when I started college. The first year of college is basically a frenzy to meet and make friends with as many people as you can, and I just knew that it was going to be difficult for me.

What I learned later, is that I am, by nature, an introvert. And that's OK. A lot of people assume that introverts are terribly shy and lacking social skills, but that's not the case. Most people are extroverts and thrive on the energy from others--they are happiest when surrounded by people. Introverts are exactly the opposite -- we get most of our energy and motivation from ourselves.

This makes life really hard sometimes, but the older I get, here are the things I've learned:

Being an introvert does not mean that I'm shy -- I am more than happy to meet new people and carry on conversations. The difference is that I MUCH prefer to meet people one on one, or in small groups. Large groups or crowded places really, really overwhelm me and cause me a lot of anxiety. I feel so great after a night out with a small group, but I feel literally sick to my stomach entering a room with a lot of people.

I need time by myself to recharge -- while going out and being around people energizes most people, it physically drains me. While I can go out and have fun at a bar or club, I usually spend next day by myself, taking time to relax and work on projects for myself.

Say yes to things outside your comfort zone, but don't feel bad about saying no if you know you will be miserable -- I have had such good times going to parties and events that I felt really nervous about. Things that I expected to be nerveracking turned out to be great experiences. However, there have been some times when, for example, a party I was invited to was full of people I knew I would feel awkward running in to. I felt bad about not going, but I know that it wouldn't have turned out well.

Explaining these things to people help -- since most people haven't been through it, it helps to explain things. most of my friends have been super understanding when I tell them about these things. I definitely have run into a few instances where people have been a little bit rude or condescending about it, but in general, it's been fine.

If you have friends who are introverts:
-Don't take it personally if they decline social invitations. It doesn't mean they don't want to hang out with you. It just means they aren't comfortable hanging out in that situation.
-Make time to spend with them one on one. It's the best way of getting to know an introvert.
-Introduce them to people you think they might click with - sometimes meeting people is really difficult, and having that bridge makes things a little easier. DON'T make it obvious, or force it though, because that makes things 100x worse.

If you are an introvert yourself:
-Try saying yes to new things. You might end up having a better time than you thought!
-Make more of an effort to meet new people. Try talking to that nice girl at the coffee shop or that guy that says hi at the concert. They might end up being a new friend!
-Get involved in groups that make it easier to meet people.

After all of my nervousness about my first year of college, I ended up meeting some of my very best friends there. I went out, I had fun, and I got involved in lots of different things that allowed me to meet lots of different people and I had the best time. It can be done. :)

Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

Hope that everyone is having an amazing Sunday. I'm going to go to breakfast and do some wandering downtown a little later, then I believe I will be lying on my couch enjoying Love, Actually.