Patti O'Shea's Blog, page 94
December 13, 2016
Happiness Hacks
That podcast I mentioned last week when I talked about happy music also discussed happiness hacks. Things you do to make yourself happier. They were in front of a live audience when this podcast was recorded, so they had people line up to share their hacks. Some were quite simple like one woman had a basket downstairs and one upstairs. When things that belonged on one floor were found on the other, she'd put it in the basket and bring the upstairs basket down and the downstairs basket up.
CNN also had an article about happiness hacks. The article mentions practicing kindness, keeping a gratitude journal, and embracing failure among other things.
This all got me thinking about happiness hacks. The audience members who spoke at the podcast mostly focused on things I'd consider tips for making life a little easier. Like the basket idea. Is that the answer? Simplifying daily chores/activities?
Or is the CNN article more on point? This talks about things you can do to make yourself happy. Meditating, helping others, smiling, going outside, and so on.
This is what I think, and of course, your mileage may vary. I believe that things can not make you happy. Oh, they might lift mood for a short period of time, but it always takes more and bigger things to maintain that endorphin high. I believe that happiness has to come from within.
Before I published, I did a lot of thinking about myself and my life and what I was doing with it. I started to make changes on the things I didn't like. This wasn't a quick fix. Habits that I'd had for years took a long time to break. Some things I still battle to this day--like my need to be perfect. I understand in my head that perfection is impossible.
The example I use on myself is what if someone thinks short hair is perfect and another person thinks long hair is perfect. I can't be perfect for both people, and if I try to split the difference with medium length hair, I'm not perfect in either person's eyes.
Yeah. Despite understanding this, I still strive for perfection and cause myself huge amounts of stress.
But I've succeeded in other areas. I used to never be able to say no and found myself roped into things I had zero desire to do or zero time to do. This added to my stress level too. I did learn to say no and I did learn to stick to it even with huge amounts of pressure put on me by other people. Like when I had a deadline for a book and someone wanted me to go to a baseball game. I got huge pressure to blow off the writing and go, but I couldn't. I knew I was going to be tight on my deadline and I couldn't take that night off. I stayed home and I met my deadline.
I need to think about this happiness hack thing some more to see if there are other things I can do just on a day-to-day basis to make life easier. Time to do some more mulling.
CNN also had an article about happiness hacks. The article mentions practicing kindness, keeping a gratitude journal, and embracing failure among other things.
This all got me thinking about happiness hacks. The audience members who spoke at the podcast mostly focused on things I'd consider tips for making life a little easier. Like the basket idea. Is that the answer? Simplifying daily chores/activities?
Or is the CNN article more on point? This talks about things you can do to make yourself happy. Meditating, helping others, smiling, going outside, and so on.
This is what I think, and of course, your mileage may vary. I believe that things can not make you happy. Oh, they might lift mood for a short period of time, but it always takes more and bigger things to maintain that endorphin high. I believe that happiness has to come from within.
Before I published, I did a lot of thinking about myself and my life and what I was doing with it. I started to make changes on the things I didn't like. This wasn't a quick fix. Habits that I'd had for years took a long time to break. Some things I still battle to this day--like my need to be perfect. I understand in my head that perfection is impossible.
The example I use on myself is what if someone thinks short hair is perfect and another person thinks long hair is perfect. I can't be perfect for both people, and if I try to split the difference with medium length hair, I'm not perfect in either person's eyes.
Yeah. Despite understanding this, I still strive for perfection and cause myself huge amounts of stress.
But I've succeeded in other areas. I used to never be able to say no and found myself roped into things I had zero desire to do or zero time to do. This added to my stress level too. I did learn to say no and I did learn to stick to it even with huge amounts of pressure put on me by other people. Like when I had a deadline for a book and someone wanted me to go to a baseball game. I got huge pressure to blow off the writing and go, but I couldn't. I knew I was going to be tight on my deadline and I couldn't take that night off. I stayed home and I met my deadline.
I need to think about this happiness hack thing some more to see if there are other things I can do just on a day-to-day basis to make life easier. Time to do some more mulling.
December 11, 2016
December 8, 2016
Virtual Race
***I'm going to talk about something by name so let me insert this disclaimer here: I have received no compensation of any kind whatsoever from anyone to discuss this topic/race/company. All opinions are my own.***
I'm not a runner--I'm a walker--but there's this race that looks really cool and I want to do their 5k. The reason why I'm attracted to this race and not to others? This is more for fun than super competitive. Since I'd be walking the 5k, this is important to me. The other big reason is they give pink stuff to their competitors. I know it's a silly reason, but I love pink.
The race is called Run Like a Diva. There are pink T-shirts, pink tutus (I'll admit I don't care about the tutu), tiaras, pink boas, and cool medals for finishers.
I have entering one of their real races in 2017 as one of my goals. They have a time limit on completing each mile of the race because of road closures and I need to build my speed up another half a mile per hour or so before I can do it in real life.
But they released a virtual race and I signed up for that! It doesn't give all the super cool stuff that a real race gives to entrants. No T-shirt, no tiara, no boa. But I can do it in my neighborhood or on a treadmill and my speed won't be an issue. (I do about 3.5 miles per hour and I'd need to be around 4 mph for this race.) I already walk more than 5k on many, many days, so distance has never been a problem for me.
I am ridiculously excited about doing this. It's kind of a mini-goal, a step on the way to my goal of participating in a real, live, in-person race.
***I have received no compensation of any kind whatsoever from anyone to discuss this topic/race/company. All opinions are my own.***
I'm not a runner--I'm a walker--but there's this race that looks really cool and I want to do their 5k. The reason why I'm attracted to this race and not to others? This is more for fun than super competitive. Since I'd be walking the 5k, this is important to me. The other big reason is they give pink stuff to their competitors. I know it's a silly reason, but I love pink.
The race is called Run Like a Diva. There are pink T-shirts, pink tutus (I'll admit I don't care about the tutu), tiaras, pink boas, and cool medals for finishers.
I have entering one of their real races in 2017 as one of my goals. They have a time limit on completing each mile of the race because of road closures and I need to build my speed up another half a mile per hour or so before I can do it in real life.
But they released a virtual race and I signed up for that! It doesn't give all the super cool stuff that a real race gives to entrants. No T-shirt, no tiara, no boa. But I can do it in my neighborhood or on a treadmill and my speed won't be an issue. (I do about 3.5 miles per hour and I'd need to be around 4 mph for this race.) I already walk more than 5k on many, many days, so distance has never been a problem for me.
I am ridiculously excited about doing this. It's kind of a mini-goal, a step on the way to my goal of participating in a real, live, in-person race.
***I have received no compensation of any kind whatsoever from anyone to discuss this topic/race/company. All opinions are my own.***
December 6, 2016
Happiness 911
I was listening to a podcast a while back that talked about using music when you need to feel happier. The two hosts went on to talk about several of the songs that perked them up and I thought this was a super cool idea. Their only rule was that Happy by Pharrell could not be one of the songs--I guess because it's too obvious.
This is kind of a cool exercise. I'm very aware that music and mood go together. On a Friday afternoon, when I'm driving home from work, I don't want dark, heavy music because it doesn't fit how I'm feeling. I want light, happy, upbeat songs. In movies, the score is very important to driving tension and mood. Maybe it's just me, but I'm usually not consciously aware of music in movies very often, but when I pick up the soundtracks later (I like instrumental music sometimes when I write), I'll notice how very fitting each song is to the corresponding movie scene.
So my happy songs, the ones I play when I need a pick-me-up:
Walking on Sunshine - Katrina and the Waves
Goody Two Shoes - Adam Ant
Knock on Wood - Amii Stewart
Rebel Yell - Billy Idol
There are more, but they're not coming immediately to mind.
I have a lot of 80s songs on my list and that's because--overall--80s music is happy music IMO. Even the songs that are slower and supposed to be ballads feel happier to me than a lot of the music that came out later. And this is actually one of the reasons why I still listen to so much music from that decade--I want music that makes me happy. The titles listed above are simply the songs that make me happier than my usual mix.
This is kind of a cool exercise. I'm very aware that music and mood go together. On a Friday afternoon, when I'm driving home from work, I don't want dark, heavy music because it doesn't fit how I'm feeling. I want light, happy, upbeat songs. In movies, the score is very important to driving tension and mood. Maybe it's just me, but I'm usually not consciously aware of music in movies very often, but when I pick up the soundtracks later (I like instrumental music sometimes when I write), I'll notice how very fitting each song is to the corresponding movie scene.
So my happy songs, the ones I play when I need a pick-me-up:
Walking on Sunshine - Katrina and the Waves
Goody Two Shoes - Adam Ant
Knock on Wood - Amii Stewart
Rebel Yell - Billy Idol
There are more, but they're not coming immediately to mind.
I have a lot of 80s songs on my list and that's because--overall--80s music is happy music IMO. Even the songs that are slower and supposed to be ballads feel happier to me than a lot of the music that came out later. And this is actually one of the reasons why I still listen to so much music from that decade--I want music that makes me happy. The titles listed above are simply the songs that make me happier than my usual mix.
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December 4, 2016
How Much Force Does It Take to Break a Bone?
I've broken my ankle, my tibia, a toe, a bone in my foot, etc.
December 1, 2016
Thanksgiving Shopping Surprise
In the evening on Thanksgiving Day, I did some online shopping. One of these stores was having door busters and there was one I wanted. Yes, it was planner related. I'm so bad about my planners. I put it in my cart and continued shopping. I never expected them to sell my copy out from under me!
Yes, my Thanksgiving shopping surprise was not a good one.
I always thought that once you put something in your cart when you shopped online that it belonged to you unless you left your cart idle for too long. I wasn't idle. I was shopping for more items to buy because, you know, sale. Then I go to check out and I get a message that one of my items is out of stock and I'm like, no it isn't. The store wouldn't let me order anything out of stock.
I saw there was one item that I accidentally had two of. Maybe that was the problem. I changed it to one, but I still had the error message.
Another item had a link with the message "Edit item." This must be my culprit. I switched colors. Nope, still had the error message even with the new color. I deleted the item all together thinking that maybe both colors were out of stock. Nope.
Frustrated and unable to check out, I start opening items. It was the first one, the item I wanted most of all, that I had put in my cart first thing in the shop. It now had an "out of stock" message.
This aggravated the hell out of me. Should I have ordered that one item immediately and then gone back to shopping? And paid shipping TWICE? Grr. It never occurred to me that they would sell the copy I had in my active shopping cart out from under me. Massive fail. Massive.
WTH, Michaels?
Yes, my Thanksgiving shopping surprise was not a good one.
I always thought that once you put something in your cart when you shopped online that it belonged to you unless you left your cart idle for too long. I wasn't idle. I was shopping for more items to buy because, you know, sale. Then I go to check out and I get a message that one of my items is out of stock and I'm like, no it isn't. The store wouldn't let me order anything out of stock.
I saw there was one item that I accidentally had two of. Maybe that was the problem. I changed it to one, but I still had the error message.
Another item had a link with the message "Edit item." This must be my culprit. I switched colors. Nope, still had the error message even with the new color. I deleted the item all together thinking that maybe both colors were out of stock. Nope.
Frustrated and unable to check out, I start opening items. It was the first one, the item I wanted most of all, that I had put in my cart first thing in the shop. It now had an "out of stock" message.
This aggravated the hell out of me. Should I have ordered that one item immediately and then gone back to shopping? And paid shipping TWICE? Grr. It never occurred to me that they would sell the copy I had in my active shopping cart out from under me. Massive fail. Massive.
WTH, Michaels?
November 29, 2016
Dry as the Sahara
This year I did most of the cooking for Thanksgiving. The gravy was from a package, but turned out awesome without any lumps. That was a win. My turkey was another story.
Last year, I did a turkey breast in the slow cooker and it was dry. I blamed the recipe I used because it said to put the bone side down and the meat/breast side up. I decided that was my problem and that if I put the meat down into the soup, there'd be no problem. I've made chicken breast in the slow cooker many times and it's always submerged and it's always moist and yummy.
So this year, I got up early and got the breast ready for the slow cooker. I added four cans of soup to make sure as much of the turkey as possible was covered, added a little seasoning, and waited for deliciousness.
That's not what came out. My turkey was dry. Possibly as dry as last year.
My theory now is that I overcooked it. The guideline I saw on the internet for turkey temperature was 165 degrees. Mine came out of the slow cooker at over 210 degrees. The mystery here is that the turkey breast weighed more than the chicken breasts I've cooked and I've done the exact same length of time with both. The chicken? Perfection. The turkey? Fail.
The only consolation I have is that dry turkey continues a family tradition. My mom always ended up with desert-dry birds, too. :-) Next year, I'll try less time in the slow cooker. ::sigh::
Last year, I did a turkey breast in the slow cooker and it was dry. I blamed the recipe I used because it said to put the bone side down and the meat/breast side up. I decided that was my problem and that if I put the meat down into the soup, there'd be no problem. I've made chicken breast in the slow cooker many times and it's always submerged and it's always moist and yummy.
So this year, I got up early and got the breast ready for the slow cooker. I added four cans of soup to make sure as much of the turkey as possible was covered, added a little seasoning, and waited for deliciousness.
That's not what came out. My turkey was dry. Possibly as dry as last year.
My theory now is that I overcooked it. The guideline I saw on the internet for turkey temperature was 165 degrees. Mine came out of the slow cooker at over 210 degrees. The mystery here is that the turkey breast weighed more than the chicken breasts I've cooked and I've done the exact same length of time with both. The chicken? Perfection. The turkey? Fail.
The only consolation I have is that dry turkey continues a family tradition. My mom always ended up with desert-dry birds, too. :-) Next year, I'll try less time in the slow cooker. ::sigh::
November 27, 2016
8 Reasons Advertising Doesn't Work Anymore
This video doesn't give a nice, straightforward list of reasons why advertising isn't working. It's more like a hodgepodge where the person watching it needs to identify the point, but as a former advertising major, I found some of it interesting.
There's one line about how ads "can't disguise their crassness" that really caught my attention.
I've maintained for quite some time that advertising today makes zero attempts to hide their manipulations. It would be like going fishing with a bare hook. There are few ads with any finesse today. True, there have always been hard sell ads and ads that were just boring, but watching the Clio Awards used to be hugely entertaining. I don't find that to be the case any longer. (The Clio Awards are advertising's Oscars.)
Anyway, I find advertising today--in all venues--to be lame and poorly executed. JMO.
There's one line about how ads "can't disguise their crassness" that really caught my attention.
I've maintained for quite some time that advertising today makes zero attempts to hide their manipulations. It would be like going fishing with a bare hook. There are few ads with any finesse today. True, there have always been hard sell ads and ads that were just boring, but watching the Clio Awards used to be hugely entertaining. I don't find that to be the case any longer. (The Clio Awards are advertising's Oscars.)
Anyway, I find advertising today--in all venues--to be lame and poorly executed. JMO.
November 24, 2016
Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends! May your turkey be moist and your time with family joyous!
