Image Slider

Weekly Wishes #4

| On
June 30, 2013
 
The Nectar Collective

Hello friends. Once again, It's time to link up with The Nectar Collective for Weekly Wishes. The Weekly Wishes is where we all can share our posts about goals, challenges, and wishes for the week!

Last week, my goal was to drink water often and journal everyday. How did I do? Pretty well! I didn't drink a ton more water than usual, but I was more conscious of bringing a water bottle to work and keeping it near me. I also journaled just about everyday, which was weird for me! Some people say journaling helps them clear their minds but it's just not for me :)

Anyways! Now, for this week's wish:
weeklyw

In short, TED Talks are short lectures (5-30 minutes, generally) on anything that's an "idea worth spreading". I love watching TED Talks, but just don't get around to watching them often for whatever reason. This week, I plan on watching at least ONE every single day. I'll share my favorites at the end of the week! If you're slightly geeky or just like learning new stuff, start watching TED Talks! I promise, it's so worth it! They have videos on everything from plankton to street signs to religion. 


(Here's a great/short TED Talk to get you started: Gary Lauder's new traffic sign: Take Turns).

Now head on over to The Nectar Collective and join the Weekly Wish link up.

How did your weekly wish go? Have you ever watched a TED Talk?

Why I Like Jerry Springer

| On
June 29, 2013
I feel like a thousand people are about to [x] out of my blog after reading just the blog title. But it's true, I legitimately enjoy watching Jerry Springer on some level. Yeah, it's twisted, I know. Judge away!--but first, let me explain.

go to a jerry springer show, it would be the experience of my life

Dislaimer: I don't agree with most things on the show and I doubt you do either.  I think most sane people feel the same way. It shows way too screwed up relationships and yeah, I do feel sorry for the guests on the show.

But here's the tricky part: as much as I want to hate the show, I can't. Every time a girl brings in a cheating boyfriend and yells at him, I get a small amount of satisfaction. I somehow get pleasure out of watching people get things out in the open and stand up for themselves when they've been wronged.

Ignoring all the slapping and swearing and et cetera, if we could all be that honest all the time, wouldn't we be happier?

Awhile ago, the boy and I had a bit of an argument. There was something that was bothering me for a little while but I kept ignoring it because I didn't want to argue about it. So I just stuffed it down deep and didn't say anything. But then later, after something little he said, I got mad. It all comes out sometime. And because I let it build, I was upset enough about it that it was hard to discuss like mature people and it came out as an attack on him.

Once we had come to an agreement, he just asked me why I didn't tell him. And that's a hard question, why we aren't honest.

Is it because I'm afraid of making things uncomfortable, I just want peace or am I just self-centered? I don't know the answer.

Pretty intense episode of Jerry Springer, lol.
Get yourself a giggle out of this "brutal betrayal".
When I think about it, my dishonesty is everywhere, and with all honesty, yours probably is too. Not straight up lies, but we sugarcoat, we tame things down or leave out important information. In the example I just mentioned, I withheld something important deliberately. I try not to, but I'm human and I do lie more than I would care to admit. But then really, am I not almost continually lying?

A customer at work (I scoop ice cream) last night asked me how I was. And I answered with my standard, "I'm good, how are you?" little spiel. But in truth, my head hurt, we were severely understaffed, I had just cut my hand on the shake blender (those suckers are weapons, I tell you) minutes before. I wanted advil and a nap, not to make four chocolate peanut butter banana shakes.

But would it really have been acceptable to answer with that? Even politely, to say "It's been a long night; I'm a bit stressed"? I doubt anyone would like that. I think most people would be caught off guard and at least slightly uncomfortable. Because when people ask how you're doing, a huge percentage of the time, they don't care about your answer. And we know this.

And I can't wrap this post up with an answer as to why we treat each other the way we do; I'm guilty of the same. But I just had to get that off my chest and I think it's worth recognizing that our small dishonest moments change the way we treat other people and by extension, the happiness of people around us.

Be honest--do you watch Jerry Springer? Are you totally judging me? And you deserve a prize for reading this whole thing. Props to you.

The Reverse Bucket List.

| On
June 29, 2013
This idea's from Chimerikal (a great gal and a great blog! Check her out). Almost any blog you go to is going to have a bucket list, right? Everyone has things that they want to do in order to have their ideal life and feel like they've made their lives worth it. But the thing is, our lives already are worth it. What if we counted all the great things we have done, instead of everything we still want? After I wrote this list, I just felt fantastic...I'm still young and I've done so many things and had so many opportunities. So this is my reverse bucket list: the things I've already been lucky enough to experience.

  1. Go whitewater rafting

  2. Ride horses.

  3. Touch a stingray.

  4. Zipline in Mexico.

  5. See the sunset.

  6. Swim in one of the Great Lakes

  7. Go skiing

  8. Go canoeing

  9. Sleep in a treehouse.

  10. Swim in the ocean.

  11. Surf in California

  12. Go skinny dipping

  13. Fly first class.

  14. Go paintballing

  15. Visit the Georgia Aquarium

  16. Visit the Shedd Aquarium

  17. Visit New York City

  18. Visit Europe (France, Germany, Switzerland, & Ukraine)

  19. See a Broadway Show in New York

  20. See the house where my grandmother and great-grandmother lived (Hamburg, Germany)

  21. Go on a road trip through National Parks

  22. Eat cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory.

  23. Visit all the North American countries

  24. Visit the Caribbean

  25. Swim with sharks.

  26. Sleep on the beach.

  27. Hold a snake.

  28. Sleep in a log cabin.

  29. Pull an all-nighter.

  30. Go to Hawaii

  31. Make a speech in front of three hundred people.

  32. Visit Sea World

  33. Be the President of something (Environmental Club & Debate Club)

  34. Take a double-decker bus tour

  35. Visit the Statue of Liberty

  36. Go to a cheese market in France.

  37. Study my ancestors.

  38. Go to a circus.

  39. Eat Chicago-style pizza.

  40. Visit the place where Count of Monte Cristo is set (Marseille, France, Chateau d'If)

  41. Eat Chicago-style popcorn.

  42. Visit a concentration camp (Bergen-Belsen)

  43. Go to a concert outdoors (Rascal Flatts, Zac Brown Band, Little Big Town)

  44. Learn to play an instrument

  45. Make ice cream (peach).

  46. Visit a pickle factory.

  47. Get on the Honor Roll.

  48. Play a sport.

  49. Eat gelato.

  50. Run a 5K.

  51. Run a 10K.

  52. Learn to surf.

  53. Scuba dive.

  54. Go on a cruise.

  55. Go out for a fancy dinner--and order dessert.

  56. Learn conversational French.

  57. Sing in a choir.

  58. Go snorkeling.

  59. Go hiking.

  60. Go rock climbing.

  61. Go jetskiing.

  62. See the Northern Lights (over the Atlantic Ocean & Minnesota)

  63. Visit Niagara Falls.

  64. Buy something using a foreign language.

  65. Vacation in Cancun.

  66. Take a yoga class.

  67. Take a spinning class.

  68. Take a zumba class.

  69. Visit the Smithsonian Museums in Washington, DC.

  70. See the White House

  71. Ride in a police car (it was for charity, guys!)

  72. Visit Chicago.

  73. Climb up the Empire State Building

  74. See Mount Rushmore

  75. Visit Disney World

  76. Learn to paint.

  77. Learn to sew.

  78. Watch a silent film.

  79. Donate.

  80. Go sailing.

  81. Visit a castle.

  82. Visit an aquarium.

  83. Swim with dolphins.

  84. Visit a zoo.

  85. Be kind to a stranger.

  86. Give a big tip.

  87. Fall in love.


What would be on your reverse bucket list? 

 

Related posts you might like:

P.S. For more, like CMS on Facebook or follow me on Twitter or Bloglovin'

Follow on Bloglovin

Catching My Eye 04.

| On
June 26, 2013


This week: I worked, scooping lots of ice cream ♥ Played lots of games with friends ♥ swam & laid out on the beach ♥ ran my longest run in awhile (4.5 mi) ♥

Now for the best of the interwebs:


♥Obama likes Snocones.

♥Shannon at The Feminist Mystique has a series on different women (and some men) and their choices to change, keep, or hypenate their last names upon getting married.

♥Bill Nye the Science Guy's house is energy efficient with solar panels and green windows.

♥95% of people wash their hands wrong, are you one of them?

♥Sarah Von from Yes and Yes shares a new idea for your bucket list: write a letter to an inmate.

♥This explanation of the right & left sides of your brain.



♥The reasons I love Anthropologie: These Victorian style whale bookends, this beautiful pale pink watch, and this bust of a giraffe that I want hanging on my wall.
♥You might have missed: fresh pair of eyes [a playlist] ♥ Weekly Wishes #3 ♥ celtic rock [a playlist]

♥Follow me on Twitter

♥Follow me on BlogLovin'

Celtic Rock [playlist]

| On
June 25, 2013
Lately, I've been really interested in branching out my music tastes. Nothing crazy, I still haven't found much straight rap or screamo that I can stand, but I've been feeling a lot of jazz/swing/bluegrass/country. All of which I'm mostly a stranger too, so recommendations are always welcome!



And out of those new listens, I've gotten into the whole Celtic-punk feel particularly of bands like Flogging Molly and The Dropkick Murphys. So if you're new to them, be sure to give them a solid listen.

To get you through whatever you're going through. It grows on you, just trust me on this one.

Siobhan//The Tossers
Heroes From Our Past//The Dropkick Murphys
Follow Me Up To Carlow (2007 Version)//The Young Dubliners
If I Ever Leave This World Alive (Live)//Flogging Molly
The Drunken Sailor//Schooner Fare
Kiss Me, I'm Shitfaced//The Dropkick Murphys
The Paddy Set//Seven Nations
Old Black Rum//Great Big Sea
Laura//Flogging Molly
I'm A Rover//Great Big Sea
The Times, They Are A-Changin'//Flogging Molly
Float (live)//Flogging Molly
Go Home Girl//Gaelic Storm
Loaded Gun//Flatfoot 56
The Lightning Storm//Flogging Molly
The SchoonerLake Set//Gaelic Storm
The Mermaid//Great Big Sea

Listen on Spotify.

fresh pair of eyes [playlist]

| On
June 24, 2013
Here in Southwest Michigan, it's been a rainy couple of days. As I went for a run in the rain a few days ago, I admired the forest around the roads where I live. Even though I was listening to rock for my run, it made me feel like this:

Quelqu'un M'a Dit//Carla Bruni
Go On//Elephant Revival
Take Me Somewhere Nice//Mogwai
Love Song #1//White Buffalo
You Ain't Alone//Alabama Shakes
Bruises//Chairlift
I'll Drown//Soley
Old Friends//Simon & Garfunkel
Where is My Love//Cat Power
It's Only Fear// Alexi Murdoch
I Won't Give Up//Jason Mraz
Fresh Pair of Eyes//Brooke Waggoner
Chanson Triste//Carla Bruni
Cheers Darlin'//Damien Rice

Listen on Spotify.

June Book Challenge Update

| On
June 22, 2013
Ten days into June, after I had made my reading goal to read ten books in June, I started panicking. Why? Well, I had only read one book. One third of the way through June. However, after I made my weekly wish last week to read an hour every day, I'm catching up! I'm super proud to say that I have now read seven books out of my goal of ten--and June isn't over yet! Some of them are school books, which, while I feel great that they're done, I'm not quite recommending them as the most riveting reads.

The Forest Unseen  by David George Haskell
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization by Anthony Esolen
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris.
Wool 1 by Hugh Howey
Anthem by Ayn Rand
Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner.

Up Next: (probably--my literary moods change quickly)

Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

What have you read lately?

 

Custom Post Signature

Custom Post  Signature