WHAT?!?!

I love working in the advertising field...I really do! Yes, it has it's down times, times when I wish I would have never spent 4+ years of my life studying it...but most of the time I really enjoy it and it gives me many laughs. (Which, in my opinion you should have at least 1 good belly laugh a day)

When it was time for me to decide what to do with the rest of my life, I enrolled in college. I enrolled as an undecided major and spent as much time undecided as I possibly could. I started to lean toward a social work degree in my sophomore year, then I moved towards psychology in the second half of my sophomore year, then it was onto a teaching degree in my junior year (unfortunately my advisor told me I would never make it as a teacher that I should just find a different major) Wow! He was pretty blunt! I then moved to a communication/journalism degree in the second half of my junior year. I liked it...my favorite part was broadcasting media. I thought for sure I was going to be the next weather girl on ABC27 news in Harrisburg.
In the meantime, I was changing part-time jobs rapidly from cashier, pizza maker, jewelry salesperson, deli clerk, WTPA disc jockey covering the Hershey Bears games to front-desk person at the local newspaper. My boyfriend and I were also busy planning our wedding at this time.
My last semester of college I finally figured out what I wanted to do, I wanted to do computer graphics! It was artistic and fun! AND the local paper I started at was hiring a graphic artist...PERFECT TIMING! The last week of finals was also my last week as a single woman... (yes I was that crazy person that plans their wedding while taking finals) I took my last final on Friday and was married on Saturday evening. AND I got the job as a part-time graphic artist at a place I already knew everybody and how everything worked!
But now 5 or so years later (OK, that might be a little fib) I think it's time to change careers. Don't get me wrong, I still love doing graphics...I find it fun and a great way to be creative (most of the time). I don't think I will ever truly leave this field...I have many good memories from it. For example:

1. Never abbreviate Assorted...No one wants to eat Ass' donuts
2. I can't go to a restaurant without critiquing the menu design.
3. There is never a time that you should use Comic Sans...NEVER
4. Fux is so close to fax and will not be caught by spellcheck...Please fux us 000-000-0000....
5. Restaurants very rarely served masked potatoes for Thanksgiving.
6. You never turn your clocks forward by turning them cockwise.
7. Kerning is very important...(this is the space between each letter) For example: If you wish to say Just a click away and the c and l are too close, it will end of saying Just a dick away.
8. Pubic and Public are very close in spelling, though they mean two entirely different things.
9. As a graphic designer you don't want to hear "I need the design in Word so I can make changes myself." WHAT?!?!
10. I do not know how to add and subtract, so don't even ask me. I do understand letters and fonts though :)
11. Make sure you get the right vowel when talking about a great deck for entertaining..."Huge dick for entertaining" doesn't quite paint the same picture

So where do I go from here? I wish I knew. Each day is a new adventure :)

I was exhausted and brain dead when I got home from play practice last night around 9:30.  All I wanted to do was go to bed, stare blankly at my phone, play some Words with Friends, and nod off to sleep. It was about 10:30 when Joey walked down the hall to use the bathroom. I was alone in our room (JD had fallen asleep in Emma's room) and I watched him hobble down the hallway bumping into the only 2 walls between his room and the bathroom. I heard the toilet flush and here came Joey wide-eyed into our bedroom. I asked if he was OK and he said, God just whispered to me. Now, this is not the first time Joey has talked about God talking to him and telling him things, so I wasn't surprised.

I asked him what God said this time...he said, "God whispered in my ear, WAKE UP JOEY! WAKE up and put up the toilet seat so you don't pee on it. Your mom would not be happy if you peed on the seat." I told Joey how smart God was...

I thought that would be the end of our conversation, but he plopped himself down on the edge of the bed and started telling me about all the times God has talked to him. Now, if you know Joey, he is quite an amazing little man. He has the most amazing memory and can recall things that happened to him when he was just a baby. Things we have never told him about, but things he can clearly remember...it amazes JD and I all the time. It sends chills up my spine when Joey talks about his encounters with God and humbles me at the same time.

Joey left me with these words of wisdom last night before he went to bed. "Just listen...I'm sure He will talk to you, if you just listen."

I fell asleep and dreamt of a relative that passed away a few years ago. He was a great man...someone who was always happy, always willing to help out anyway he could. I loved him. In my dream we were playing baseball together and I introduced him to all my kids...he hugged them all, and then hugged me...I woke up crying. The last real memory I have of him is dancing with him at my wedding. It was the last time I saw him walk...he was put in a wheelchair a few months later.

So Joey, I'm listening...this is what I heard. Be thankful for the time you get to spend with your family and friends...cherish every moment, even if there is nothing extraordinary about the moment...Cherish it.

"Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means you've decided to look beyond the imperfections." 

~ unknown

Even though I couldn't care less about which celebrity wore it best, I listened to the cashier at a local convenience store about 10 minutes this morning talk about it.

This little old lady, with her half buttoned smock and eye shadow up to her eyebrows waits on me almost every morning I go there. She always seems so happy.

At first I thought she was just faking a happy face, making the best of a situation I didn't know about. After all, she couldn't be happy working at the convenience store everyday, could she? BUT I was missing the biggest part of why I was happy when I saw her there...she DOES enjoy her job. She seems happy.....because SHE IS happy!

My life doesn't always look like I want it to. I spend many days going into work, when I'd rather work from home or from a beach-side office that I share with some other equally artistic people as me. I drive an old VW Passat, when I'd prefer a brand new Jeep Wrangler or Saab convertible.

But seriously, would the world change all that much if I had more money, a different job, or a nicer car? The wrapping paper would be different, but the gifts inside would stay the same.

The way I feel about myself; how much I open myself to new people and new experiences; how often I choose to smile or laugh just because it feels good. None of these things depend on my life situation.

So I'm gonna work hard on the following things:

1. Enjoy the present moment.  

2. Notice and appreciate the details. Enjoy the little things and your happiness will grow.  Think about things that fill you with joy...spending time with your kids, riding your bike, watching a movie with some good friends. Focus on those things, and let them brighten your day. That way, no matter what changes, you'll have a variety of simple pleasures to help you through.

3. Everyday is a new opportunity to be better then yesterday. Look at the things you do as opportunities to get better from one day to the next.

4. Always ask yourself - "How can I be that person I want to be in this moment?"

5. Find joy in the present moment - happiness is a moment-to-moment choice, one that many have a hard time making. Other people will notice if you make that choice. AND you will motivate them to do the same..

HAPPINESS is about how you interpret what's in front of you. How proud you are of the way you live your life. How willing you are to enjoy simple pleasures, even if things aren't perfect.