Day 28!

Day 28: Pamper yourself!

I happened too be TOO busy pampering myself yesterday, that I didn't have the opportunity to write! (I also turned the big 2-5 yesterday, so let's use that as an excuse too!)

As I was researching yesterday ways to pamper myself, I came accross this blog of 10 ways to show yourself some love. If you read the 10 ways, you'll likely see some similarities between the November project and the list: forgive, journal, be grateful, and have 'me' time; who knew that we were actually pampering ourselves the entire month?

But, the way I most enjoyed on here was "Use Your own Love Strategy". Have you ever read the 5 languages of love? Hands down, I give love through physical affection (anyone that's ever met me knows I'm a hugger), but I like to receive love through words of praise. So yesterday, this blog suggested to use your own love stratergy for yourself. For me, it suggested:

Words of praise: Pay yourself a compliment. Write yourself a love letter telling yourself what you love about you. Write “You are lovable” on your mirror and read it every morning, out loud, five times.

It's funny thinking about it, I rarely take time to think about what I actually enjoy about myself; I feel like I'm always making goals to improve rather than focus on the good.

So, yesterday, I reminded myself, especially in honor of my birthday, that I've made a difference in other's lives and that I am a good person. No matter how clumsy, unmotivated to stay on a steady workout plan, or bad with cellular devices I am, I genuinely enjoy being me.

What's you're love language? How would you show yourself some love with it?

Day 26!

Day 26: Do something Seasonal

It's November 26. Thanksgiving has come and gone. Christmas is just under one month away, but it's hard for me to get into the holiday spirit. Maybe it's that the fact it's 70 degrees in Memphis or I haven't purchased any Christmas gifts yet.

So to get in the spirit, I did a few very seasonal things: I decorated my Christmas tree, I drank hot chocolate, listened to the N'SYNC Christmas CD, and finished my seasonal tasks by watching Elf.

Even after all this.... I'm still not in the Holiday Spirit. A big part of thinks this is because, no matter the decorations, music, or Christmas traditions, the season won't feel right until December 21, when I'm back in Pennsylvania.

Today, while I did seasonal things, I remembered what the season is all about- spending time with family & loved ones; it's a season of sharing, caring, and giving. For me, the real "seasonal" things will fall in December.

Day 24!

Day 24: Give thanks!

I am the luckiest.

Seriously, sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve to be so blessed. Today, I want to share a few reasons why I am thankful this (& every) year.

1. My family:
   No matter how many random states I move to or strange decisions I make, my family has 100% supported me. I am the luckiest to have such wonderful people in my life; thank you for loving me.
   
   
   
2. My Memphis "family"
   Living in Memphis for just about 2 years now, I have made friendships that I'm certain will last a lifetime, and definitely memories that will last that long too. Thanks for the memories :)
   
   
3. My Pennsy loves:
   Whoever warned me back in 2005 that I wouldn't stay friends with my friends during high school, was terribly mistaken; and for this, I'm thankful. Thank you for being a friend through all the years.
   
   
4. My Wingate Sisters:
   Wingate, NC is the third place I've called home during my almost (ick) 25 years. Wingate quickly became my home away from home when I joined Chi Omega. If there hadn't been you, I don't know where I would be. Thank you for making my college experience.
   
   
   
5. & Of course Thank you for the music. :)

Hope everyone had a fabulous holiday!

Day 23!

Day 23: Six Word Memoir.

Sitting around a kitchen table eating turkey and stuffing, I think to myself...

I didn't write that damn blog post yesterday.

I am reminded by Holly's mom that she can't find Day 23, and by Matt that I need to find my motivation again, as we only have a week left. So here goes today in all of its six word memoir joy.

I went to the website first, and found some beautiful, some depressing, and some inspirational six word memoirs.

"Losing a mother. Gaining an angel."
"You don't complete me. I do."
"Best foot forward--cast and all."
"Come home. You're needed here too."

I love the creativity of this project, but I hate the limitations that it seems to put on life. Boiling it down to only six words? No.

You are more than your mother's death.
You are more than your quest for individuality.
You are more than your injuries.
You are more than your nostalgia.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that I am more than six words. Hell, I'm more than a resume. I'm more than a first impression conversation. I'm more than Twitter's 180 character limit. I am more than even I know, yet.

My six word memoir?

"Yes, I am more than this."

Day 22!

Day 22: Do Something you've been putting off.

Have you ever received a Christmas card from me? The answer is most likely ... no.

In 2009, my first Christmas out of college, I purchased Christmas cards to send out. I figured, being all-grown up, it was time to send out my own Christmas cards. For some reason, I never found the motivation to send them. I'm not sure if it's the hustle & bustle of the holiday or the laziness of looking up everyone's address, but I didn't send them in 2009.... or 2010.

So this year, I vowed to actually finish the task: my loved ones would receive Christmas cards from me! Tonight, I made my mailing lists, purchased stamps, and I, even, addressed the envelopes.

Today, I accomplished something that I have been putting off for 2 years. I've done something that I should never put off: recognize the people I care about on a Holiday.

(This is my promise NO ONE will be on a generic thoughtless seasonal message list... this year!)

Day 21!

Day 21: Make a resolution.

I know giving thanks near Thanksgiving is incredibly cliche. Something more Hollyish.

I've noticed a giant clash in my life between being grateful on Thanksgiving for what I have, and worrying about what more I need, and what others need, for Christmas. I'll try and be positive by being grateful for how my life is at this moment, but when I'm Christmas shopping for family members and friends, I only see the things in my life that I don't have.

That steak knife set? I could use one of those.

Those sparkly bandaids? Those are pretty awesome. Why can't my life be more awesome?

That rose-gold watch? My cell-phone makes it so difficult to check the time. I could use a watch.

Really, wanting more is exhausting and completely unsatisfying.

So when I say I'm making a resolution to be more thankful, I'm not just talking about giving thanks in my prayers and occasionally to the people around me on one holiday a year. I want to start living my life, today, where I'm grateful for the lean pocket I'm eating at lunch, the apartment I have to go back to at the end of the day, and the car I drive home in, no matter how many times it breaks down on me, and no matter how much ridicule I get for driving a PT Cruiser. There's no more room for crying about finances, and no more sitting, waiting, wishing.

So even though it's cliche, please don't forget to be thankful for your life. As it is. Right now. Today.

Day 20!

Day 20: Make a full course meal, from scratch!

Cooking for one is just not fun for me, which makes me a little kitchen clueless. Most of my "meals" consist of frozen pizza, lean cuisines, peanut butter sandwiches, and sometimes I get really fancy and make... tacos. I rarely have a delicious home cooked meal.

So, today for lunch, after much research, I found multiple resources to help me with my lonely cooking!

I dug out my cute owl apron that I haven't touched in months (I mean, if I'm slaving in the kitchen, I might as well look cute) and got to it!

Course 1:
Salad w/homemade Italian Dressing
Who knew dressing was SO easy to make yourself?

Course 2:
Lasagna for one
(ok, I didn't make the noodles, but I did shave the cheese by myself!)

Course 3:
Peanut butter Brownies.

Now, I think I've realized cooking for one doesn't have to be such a curse. I just really wish tomorrow was "Day 29: Exercise!'

Day 19!

Day 19: Make a Drink.

I had planned on a long night with a good friend making margaritas and mixing them with coronas. It's one of my favorite drinks, and I want it to be my signature.

Until I heard that I was waking up at 5:00AM the next morning to drive Matt & Troy to run thirteen miles in the cold. Cancel the coronita, I'm going to sleep at 7.

So I made myself a drink at dinner to experiment, and to fulfill the "make a drink" for today's blog. Triple Sec, Gin, and Orange Juice tasted good for the first few minutes, and then it just tasted like disappointment. Let's call it "Walk of Shame."

One of these days I'm going to make the deliciousness that is the Coronita. Mostly so I don't have to spend $7.00 on it anymore at On the Border, but also because I want it to be my signature. I'll make it with the friend I always drink it with and play Lady Gaga & Beyonce's "Telephone" in the background. Because the best drinks are made with the best of friends.

Day 18!

Day 18: Get Rid of the Negative.

I had no idea how many negative thoughts run through my head in one day.

Until today.

I considered myself a fairly optimistic person who enjoyed the art of sarcasm as my form of humor. What I didn't think about was how much of my humor was fueled by my negative thoughts.

Yesterday morning, I woke up feeling like I was hit by a train. I was incredibly sick, I had already had a day off from work that week, and I knew I had to get to work somehow. So between getting sick and getting ready, somehow I made it into work. I proceeded to have the most pathetic attempt at working for one hour before I knew I had to give up and go home. White flag.

So as I was laying on my couch, thinking of the repercussions this could cause me at work, feeling bad for myself, drinking water and eating soup, I tried to think of the positive in this scenario. I get to watch re-runs of Everybody Loves Raymond all day because Drew Carey makes it impossible to watch The Price is Right when you're sick, I guess. But when I started thinking of the positives, I wasn't feeling better. I was feeling guilty.

How dare I think of the positives of being sick from work today! I'm missing work, damn it, and we're really far behind! So I read work emails until I fell asleep because the mental fight between feeling guilty or feeling negative was too much for my sick-brain to handle.

And after a long day of the back-and-forth, I had to pick up my friend Troy from the airport. He's never been to Philadelphia and was excited to experience all of the charms and magic our city had to offer. Within the first hour in the city, he had made a Good List and a Bad List. Here's what it looked like:

Bad:

Traffic

Pollution

A lot of cops

Building on fire

Guy peeing on the side of a CVS

Good:

Cheesesteaks

I attempted to think of the people in traffic as having their own story and coming from nice, loving families, until someone cut me off on the boulevard. Then the screaming commenced and Philly Danielle scared the hell out of Charlotte Troy.

But if you would have caught me on my day off this week, which consisted of a manicure, teriyaki steak, and a Ryan Gosling movie, it would have been much easier to write today's blog. So let's just pretend that Friday was Wednesday, and that I didn't fail at being a positive person amidst the traffic and disease.

Day 17!

Day 17: Take a half hour of complete peace & quiet.

Well, the November Project followers, I failed today.

Anyone that has spent more than ten minutes with me probably knows that I hate silence. I find it incredibly awkward. I make small talk with everyone from gas station attendants to the random person that's checking their mailbox at the same time as me. If I spend more than a few minutes near someone, it's pretty likely I'll break the silence.

During my lunch-break today, I had to run to the grocery store. I thought, great, this is the perfect opportunity to complete Day 17. I promised myself I would enjoy the quiet time. After racing through the aisles, twenty minutes in, I already fought breaking the "peace and quiet" by talking to the cart collector as I walked in, commenting to a guy buying Us Weekly, or giving a high five to someone in a Michael Vick shirt (it took everything in me NOT to say something to him!) By the time I was at the cashier, I was CONVINCED it had been thirty minutes, and I made every small talk comment possible, including, "Can you believe how cold out it is?," and "Crazy you guys are open on Thanksgiving!" When I got to the car, I realized it had only been 27 minutes, oops.

This 1/2 hour for me, well almost 1/2 hour, was not peaceful or quiet. It was almost painful for me to stay silent that long. My point today is, sometimes, you have to embrace who you are, and maybe that's what makes everyday extraordinary.

I hope everyone else was more successful at Day 17 than me!

Day 16!

Day 16: Plan a Trip.

I love Disney.

No really, I'm confident that this is, in fact, the happiest place on earth.

I went to Disney for the first time in the summer of 2010 on a family vacation, and I fell in love with the lights and the magic. If it weren't for the expensive prices holding me back, I'd probably go every weekend.

On the other hand, Matt suggested to me a few months back that we start a "Vacation Fund." We wouldn't spend any of our change, and instead, would put it right into the vacation fund. I had no idea how big of a difference my change would make, but half a container of Glenfidditch later, filled with quarters, nickels, dimes, and pennies, we have what appears to be almost $150.00 in change:

Our plans are to go to Universal/Disney [select parks, of course finally featuring Harry Potter] for our three year anniversary in July. Three years. I can't believe time has gone by this quickly, but I'm also hoping the next seven months fly by. I'm ready to ride a magic carpet again.

So get a bottle, a container, a whatever-you-have, and refuse to spend your change. Put it directly in your vacation fund, and you'll be shocked at how much you can save towards your dream come true.

Day 15!

Day 15: Volunteer

Not only is November full of fun calendar days we have composed, but nationally, November has special days marked on it's calendar each year.

Today, two special national days come to mind: November 15 is National Philanthropy Day & November 11 is Veterans day. In the spirit of these special days, I decided to combine the two causes in my volunteering.

Can you imagine being deployed in the military? Leaving your home, family, friends and comfort zone for months to do your job? Sometimes, I feel restless leaving my home for an eight hour workday. So, today, I decided to write a few letters to soldiers through the website: http://www.letterstosoldiers.org/

More than ever, I'm reminded that no matter how bad my day might seem, there are people out there that are fighting much larger battles. Even though I'm not there to fight these battles, it's extraordinary for me to know I can contribute by doing something as small as writing a few letters of thanks.

I hope everyone had a fabulous November 15 and if you volunteered today, comment and share below!

Day 14!

Day 14: Make a Playlist.

I have 2,000 songs in my Itunes.

That probably seems low compared to most people, but I'm the kind of girl who wants her music organized, and doesn't have a lot of time to organize it. Adding more music would be neglecting the music I already have, and I've always been taught to make the best of what you have rather than wanting more of what you don't.

I'm also the kind of girl who is incredibly nostalgic about life. I idealize my past and would do anything to travel back and experience most of it again.

Which is why today was a great excuse for me to make a playlist called, "I'll Be Your Memory," named after that lovely Sugarcult classic--a playlist of songs that remind me of my past.

The playlist is forty songs of memories. Here's a sample of my past:

1.) "Everything is Alright" - Motion City Soundtrack

*Riding around in Laura Stomber's SUV all around Wingate until we got so lost we had to use a GPS to find our way back to campus--belting out this song at the top of our lungs.

2.) "Since You've Been Gone" - Kelly Clarkson

3.) "The Potion" - Ludacris

*Singing this with my best friend in the whole world.

4.) "No Leaf Clover" - Metallica

5.) "All for You" - Janet Jackson

6.) "Telephone" - Lady Gaga

*Zack dancing to this song at my Christmas party.

7.) "Blue & Yellow" - The Used

8.) "Boogie Shoes" - KC & the Sunshine Band

*Every Chi Omega formal, semi-formal, or parking lot dance party.

9.) "American Baby" - Dave Matthews Band

10.) "Angel" - Shaggy

*My first boyfriend I met at church camp sent me these lyrics in the mail. "Peeps" was very romantic language.

11.) "Apologize" - Timbaland/OneRepublic

12.) "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" - Jet

*The prettiest-looking boy I ever met sang this to me in Myrtle Beach. He was a waiter at the Hard Rock Cafe, and I'm also fairly certain he is a fairy.

13.) "Back Here" - BB Mak

14.) "Bass Down Low" - Dev & the Cataracts

15.) "Beat It" - Fall Out Boy [cover]

*Every summer with Bobby, Michael, Zach, Troy, in Bobby's hot-tub, Bobby's tree-house, or Bobby's "property."

16.) "Big Casino" Jimmy Eat World

17.) "Breakdown" - Forever the Sickest Kids

*Having a dream come true, and covering Warped Tour as a published writer.

18.) "Build Me Up Buttercup" - The Foundations

*An 11 day trip to Tunisia, North Africa with classmates I will never forget.

19.) "Cell Block Tango" - Chicago Soundtrack

20.) "Change Your Mind" - Sister Hazel

*Crowd surfing. Being dropped on my head. Experiencing one of the best weekends I've ever had at Wingate, two weeks before I graduated.

21.) "Chasing Cars" - Snow Patrol

*Getting wasted in the ocean in the Bahamas because of the coconut man.

22.) "Cherry Pie" - Warrant

23.) "Chewing Gum" - Annie

24.) "Chillin'" - Wale

25.) "Chop Me Up" - Justin Timberlake/Three-Six Mafia

*Spring Break of sophomore year in Tampa, Florida and a spring break cruise to kill.

26.) "Cigarettes & Chocolate Milk" - Rufus Wainwright

27.) "Cry for Mercy" - Jeffrey B. Scott

*The song I heard when I was eleven years old and decided to become a Christian.

28.) "Do You Like It" - Our Lady Peace

29.) "ET" - Katy Perry

30.) "Everybody" - BSB

31.) "Everytime We Touch" - Cascada

32.) "Grace Kelly" - Mika

33.) "Headsprung" - LL Cool J

*A high school homecoming dance I planned against the wishes of the administration. It completely ousted formal, and I'm still damn proud of it.

34.) "Hey Ya" - Outkast

*The soundtrack to my junior year of high school.

35.) "I'm Feelin' This" - Blink 182

36.) "I'm Real" - The Starting Line

37.) "It's Tricky" - Run DMC

38.) "The Middle" - Jimmy Eat World

39.) "Paper Planes" - M.I.A.

*Dancing in the parking lot of Pizza Hut with 30 of my sisters.

40.) "That's Not My Name" - The Ting Tings

*Dancing in the kitchen with my mom and not caring who was watching.

There are so many songs that remind me of the most wonderful memories with friends and family--songs that have kept me remembering the good memories and the best of friends. I hope your playlist today reminded you of love for other people or love for yourself.

Music has a way of doing that.

Day 13!

Day 13: Celebrate Someone Special in your Life

Long before the November Project started, the 13th day of November has always been a celebration for me, it's my brother's birthday! Being 1,000 miles from home, I decided to still celebrate one of my favorite people, Matt, by reflecting on him, drinking his favorite beverage: scotch, and eating a cupcake!

Being 12 months & 2 weeks apart, Matt & I were fortunate to grow up pretty close. Don't get me wrong, we definitely argued like brother and sister and still occasionally do. I still get teased for saying during a fight when we were younger - "I wish Mommy & Daddy only had 2 kids" and he quickly replied "Me too, then it would only be me & Pat". Despite the silly fights... we've gone through a ton and he's remained one of the constant, supporting people in my life.

Like the time he drove down to Wingate for my homecoming:
or my Graduation:
or came to visit Memphis (not to mention helped me move in 8 month earlier!):
I consider myself the luckiest girl in the world to call Matt my old brother, and be able to celebrate such a fun, loyal, and funny person today.

November 13, will always be a celebration for me, and as I finish sipping on scotch, (seriously Matt how do you enjoy this stuff?), I wish everyone has someone as special as Matt to celebrate today.

Day 12!

Day 12: Go Somewhere You Haven't Gone Before.
Submitted for the approval of the November Project, I call this story: “Comic Relief“.

I’ve been following this blog by two good friends since the beginning, and I’ve found it to be surprisingly inspirational. That's not a knock against Holly and Danielle. I’m just surprised that I’ve taken the inspiration and run with it.

Since November first I’ve been donating clothes, writing letters, applying for jobs, working out and many other things to make this the best month ever.

When Holly first asked me to be a guest blogger today, I wasn't exactly overwhelmed with ideas for a place I could go that I’ve never been. It’s not that I’ve been everywhere there is to be--far from it. Instead, I struggled to find a place that would be worthy of a blog post.

On my afternoon run, I looked around for inspiration. Instead, I found more pizza shops and laundromats than I had realized ever existed within a five block radius of my apartment. I ran past a Meallys Furniture store that I had never been to, but really I would have done nothing but look at sectionals and dining sets that I would never buy. Not the most exciting blog.

So I thought outside the box. Could my new place be a new “state of mind“? That would require some serious meditation, that thought of which scared me away pretty quickly.

A new website? I could argue that it’s a “place,” but it seemed like a copout.

So after concluding my run I thought about playing my new Batman game for Xbox when it hit me: a comic book store.

During my first couple years of college I used to read comics, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Of course the first thought of many of you is this or this. But really they were fun to read and fit nicely into my schedule. A ten to fifteen minute comic was much more practical than a novel when, as an English major, I was reading too many of those already. But in the end I was reading about 25 each month, and I decided the 75 dollars was better spent elsewhere.

Since my old comic store shut down, a quick search online gave me my destination: Comic Collection on Bustleton Avenue.

I’ll spare you much of the geeky details (the reminiscing of characters I missed, the discussions with fellow comic readers that I assumed were regulars), but I have to admit that it made me miss reading comics. This had been a journey that I had been meaning to take for quite some time, and to me this is what the November Project is all about: taking control of your life.

Too many times we get stuck in our daily, weekly, monthly, even yearly routines, to the point where we don’t leave ourselves enough time, or put in the effort, to do things we really want to , need to, or just something new.

I didn’t discover anything new and profound about myself today. But I visited a place I’ve been meaning to go for almost two years. Every week I think all of the things I should really do the next weekend when I have some free time. Oftentimes, I ignore this and use my weekends to drink too many beers and hang out with friends. Thirty dollars later, I can cross one of these off the list.

And a quick look at the November Project calendar tells me that I will be celebrating two special people in my life tomorrow: Holly and Danielle. Thanks for helping me with the little things on my way to what I hope is a slightly better me.

*This blog was written by a guest blogger, and one of our closest friends, Zack. Zack is a sports writer from the suburbs of Philadelphia. He lives for coronaritas from On The Border.

Day 11!

Day 11: Eat Something You Think You Don't Like.

It was just a day when life became too much, a Starbucks with Wi-Fi wasn't anywhere to be found, and tending to stomach pains was more important than spilling out life pains onto this blog.

I wish there was a post to go here for Day 11, but give us a break. When you're out there trying to live November, sometimes it's hard to come back and write about your November Day on that same night.

So instead, why don't you share with us how your Day 11 of November went. What kind of foods did you eat that you thought you didn't like?

Look out for a guest blogger tomorrow for Day 12--Go Somewhere You Haven't Gone Before.

Please forgive us for our inconsistency, and we'll be back on Sunday with more posts to finish out this beautiful month!

Holly & Danielle

Day 10!

Day 10: Start a Journal.

Over the past twenty-three years of my life, I can not even tell you how many journals I've started.

Literally, I don't think I could tell you. There are currently five journals lined up underneath my piano, pages torn out of atleast four other journals underneath my bed, some stuffed away in a sunflower chest at my parents' house in Charlotte, and countless others online, out in oblivion somewhere, misplaced at a sleepover when I was eleven, or lost in a flooded car accident.

There were the first scraps of writing when I was in first grade. I would write short stories about firemen and giraffes on napkins, random sheets of paper, and soon enough, our old Mac computer [way before they were trendy to have].

Eventually came the tarnished teen years when everything was a tragic, and why can't I just get a boy to love me? and I hate my parents blew up all over the hard-to-read writing amidst doodles of penned flowers in the margins.

When I look back on my "now" journals, I find that I'm writing with more of a purpose. There's a reason I'm writing--to figure out some sort of emotion in a practical sense, to write about how thankful I am for today in an effort to feel more optimistic, or to simply see what kind of creative accomplishment can come out on paper by the time I'm done writing.

It's this kind of writing that feels the least passionate to me when I look back on my anthology of work. Out of all of these journals that I've gone back to read, the teen years are embarrassing, but atleast they are heart-felt and self-reflexive. The child-years are completely ridiculous, but atleast they were effortless and fun with no agenda involved.

So I may have spent most of my time today reading old journals rather than starting a new one, but I suppose this blog counts as journaling so I'm chalking it up to a win for the tenth day of November. All I know is that whenever I finally start my 34th journal with a tacky cover and an almost-inked-out pen, I want it to be more child-like this time around. More teen-spirited. Less productive. No agenda.

I want it to be a journal that when I find it ten years later and read over its battered pages, I feel nostalgic. I want to feel proud of the life experience I had when I was twenty-three. I want it to feel passionate and moving to my thirty-three year old self.

And I think I want it to start with this post.

Day 9!

Day 9: Simplify your life.

Simplify my life? My entire life? I don't think the words "simple" and "my life" have ever been in the same sentence. I tend to do things the complicated way, and I barely ever see things as black and white- there's always some gray.

The idea of simplifying my life, today, was a bit overwhelming; instead of simplifying my life, I decided to start small with simplifying my weekend. This weekend, I'm traveling to see two great friends get married! Typically, when I pack for a weekend trip my suitcase usually looks like this. I mean, how I am supposed to predict, today, what I want to wear the entire weekend?

Thanks to the November Project, I decided to keep it simple and only pack the essentials: 1 outfit for each day, 1 pair of shoes to wear all weekend during tourist/playtime, dress/shoes for the wedding, and toiletries. I didn't pack any extra clothing options. Not even an extra pair of shoes to choose from!

My entire life might not be simplified, but I do feel like this weekend is a little more simple! Now, instead of spending time thinking about what I'll wear that day or any material items, I can focus on celebrating a great couple, spending time with good friends, and exploring a new city.

I didn't take the leap of simplifying my life, but my November 9th brought me back to a simple concept- sometimes, it's the small steps that count.

Day 8!

Day 8: Take Action.

It's ironic that "Take Action" day has been so hard for me to actually sit down and write this blog.

It's about this time that I start getting tired of being told what to do. You know the feeling--starting a new job, a new work out routine, an ambitious household project, a blog about the month of November--they're all exciting at first. You're motivated. You're creative. You'll stop at nothing to do your best.

And then you, well, stop. At nothing.

It's easy to quit when you're half-way. To get lackadaisical about life. To just skip this one work-out. To come back to that project next week. And before you know it, that passion you once felt is now intense frustration for being told what to do all of the time.

That's how I felt when I looked at today's calendar day--"Take Action."

No, Calendar, I don't want to take action. Today, I'm tired of being told what to do.

But I did it anyways. Because the only thing worse than feeling lackadaisical is feeling guilty.

So I finally did those loan repayment forms I've been putting off. I cleaned my room. I finally mailed that letter I wrote for Day 3.

And I don't regret my actions one bit. It turns out that Taking the Action fixed the original resistance to actually taking action. Atleast for today. Now, I feel accomplished, and ready to face the rest of this week head-on with motivation, extra-effort, and creative ideas.

Well...atleast until next Friday when I get tired of being told what to do again. But that's what Day 18's "Get Rid of the Negative" is for, right?

Day 7!

Day 7: Forgive & forget. Say you're sorry to someone who needs your apologies.

I’ll be honest, since the day we created this calendar, I’ve been dreading today. If you look in a thesaurus, there’s not one happy word associated with ‘sorry’: regretful, sad, remorseful, unhappy. Glad even means the opposite! So, great, November 7 is going to be extraordinary, unhappy, remorseful, regretful ... simultaneously. Nevertheless, I forced myself to stick with the November project by offering forgiveness and apologies today.

How I feel about forgiveness and admitting I’m wrong is a lot like how I feel about folding laundry. I do all of the steps of doing the laundry flawlessly up until that point: sorting by color, choosing the right cycle, adding detergent, and placing in the dyer. Then I just let it sit there, maybe place it in a basket, until it all becomes wrinkly and I need to start over.

Today, I feel like that’s what I did with a friendship. I put time, energy, and emotions into it. We made it through a ton, and there's more than a few occasions where I could turn to her before anyone else. Until, naturally two people can't agree on everything always, and selfishness always comes into play. That brings us to forgiveness, I feel like our friendship came so far, only to be left to become tainted, weathered, or well...wrinkly, because I'm too stubborn and unmotivated to face the fear of having to forgive and forget. Now, it's to the point where the friendship, laughs, and memories we shared are faded.... and we either need to start over or forget a friendship.

But, what exactly is forgiving and forgetting? Is it possible to truly forgive and forget? How can you really erase something that hurt you from your memory? Does saying, I’m sorry or I forgive you, really make a difference? Don't actions speak louder than words? What makes me deserve someone's forgiveness, or them deserve mine?

Today, I decided, for me, forgiveness is a choice. The choice to let it be. The realization that no one can change the past. The recognition that's it's just not worth it to hold on to resentment, bitterness, and cattiness. The choice to hold on to the fun times, the times when that friend you’re so mad at was there for you when no one else was. So, today, I took the cleansing steps of letting go; even if I can't erase things from my memory, I'm making a choice to take a step forward with a person I still respect and care about.

I think, I’m going to write Mr. Webster a letter asking him to add choice, cleansing, and maybe even wrinkle-releaser to 'sorry' in the thesaurus.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone. -Audrey Hepburn

Day 6!

Day 6: Picnic.

For 10 months this year, I've been cherishing routine when it comes to my meals. Sometimes I make a quick dinner for myself, and sometimes I eat dinner with the Whittles. Either way, I know I'm either eating mediocre, instant food on my couch while I watch How I Met Your Mother, or a home-cooked meal at a dining room table with Alex Trebek's voice in the background. How do I know I "cherish" routine? Because I have yet to change it.

Until November: when my cherished routine became toxic, and a daily calendar forced me to do something I wasn't motivated to do. And I'll be honest, I saw that this picnic post was coming up and stole the idea for a date night last week: a picnic indoors with take-out and a movie. Easy enough for a date night. And because I had already had my indoor picnic last week, I could have lied about doing the picnic today to save myself some blogging effort. Instead of feeling lazy and hesitant, however, I felt something different than expected. A desire for change. A desire for a red blanket on the floor with paper napkins and a lemonade.

So I had my second indoor picnic in two weeks. Meatball subs, lemonade, and a blanket laid out on the carpet set the scene--for a romantic dinner in, for a stress-free night after a traffic-packed car ride back from Washington, D.C., but mostly, for a change in my life.

I think I'm starting to like change.

Day 5!

Day 5: The First Saturday in November is National Book Lovers Day!

Back in college Danielle and I enjoyed Coffee shop hopping. We loved escaping the monotony of college life by raiding coffee shops and book stores. It even inspired her previous blog, girls guide to modern life. Check it out:
gglm.tumblr.com! Also, before college, I loved reading, even to the point that I did Reading Olympic until 9th grade! Reading was a lot more fun for me before it was necessary for grades and papers!

That brings us to today, There are a few things you should know about me before this story: I might be the clumsiest person in the world, I despise being by myself (watching a movie, grocery shopping, sitting alone, I hate it), and I love people watching.

So, this morning, when I went to the book store, I figured it would at least, be a good opportunity for people watching. At the bookstore, I realized how much I loved reading a quality novel and visiting bookstores. I mean where else can you plan a vacation, learn how to cook, and catch up on on current events? I quickly purchased "Water for Elephants" thinking I could join the "in" conversations about it. While reading and people watching, I managed to spill an entire cup of coffee on my new book. As a coffee shop employee helped me clean up, I said "too bad it wasn't called 'Coffee for Elephants'" and as he laughed, I quickly realized I had gone from people watching to being the person that everyone else was watching.

My November 5 was about reconnecting with an old hobby and being comfortable with yourself, no matter what the situation.

Day 4!

Day 4: Make a Donation.

It's not easy to give money away without a quick pay-off.

We're living in a country where the entirety of your day is based on as instant of gratification as you can possibly get. I work=I get a paycheck. I pay for a peppermint milkshake at Chick-Fil-A=I get a peppermint milkshake from Chick-Fil-A. I tell my boyfriend I love him, I know he'll say it right back to me. But people really want me to donate money without a quick result? I enter in the credit card numbers, I click "submit," and the money goes to..you know...some research guy researching in research-land somewhere?

It was at this moment in my thought process that I realized something about myself--something I feel the need to confess. I wasn't donating because of the cause. There are 1.5 million non-profit organizations in the country, and I'm not donating to most of them. No, I was giving because I loved the instant gratification of knowing I made someone smile in that very moment. I donated to women's cancer research today because I felt the instant joy of helping a friend who has been affected by women's cancer. That I was able to help her reach her goal that she's been fighting for during the past few months. That I was an integral part of her success in a 10K this weekend. I did it because I got the instant gratification of helping a friend who needed my help. So am I being selfish here? To be honest, I'm not really sure.

But regardless of the reason, you can't lose when it comes to donating to a good cause. I hope that donating to something on Day 4 helped you to realize the importance of giving--even if it's only for the instant gratification of seeing someone smile.

Day 3!

Day 3:
Send a letter in the mail. The actual mail.

My Top 5 Reasons why I still think Snail Mail > Email

I get ridiculously excited when I get mail that's not an invoice, credit card offer, or another 20% off coupon from bed bath & beyond.
Liberty Bell Stamps: They remind me of home :).

1. I wouldn't know my grandparents without it: I've never had the privilege of meeting my maternal grandparents. Thanks to the postal service, my family has a book compiled of their love letters. With their dotted I's and crossed T's, their story comes to life. It's the closest I'll ever come to actually hearing their voices.
   
2. Handwriting: Today, when most people read my voice, it's usually through Georgia Font or 'Facebook' font. Thinking about the rarity of seeing handwritten word, I find the warmth and personality found in a handwritten letter refreshing.
   
3. My mailman: As long as I can remember, we've had the same mailman. I haven't lived in my hometown for six years, but he's one of the only consistencies that remain when I go home. Even if my parent's living room is rearranged, we have new weird neighbors, or I realize I've lost touch with more & more high school friends, Mr. Mailman (which, I've called him since I was 5), has been the same person. Through rain, sleet, and snow, he's always been there and helps make home still feel like home.

So, Day 3 is for you, Mr. Mailman. I hope receiving my letter in the mail next week makes a great friend have an extraordinary November day.

PS- mark your calendar for February 4 --- It's National Thank A Mailman Day! (too bad this isn't the February project)

Day 2!

Day 2: Call a friend you haven't spoken to in at least 6 months.

The thing about becoming an adult is that nine hour work-days take up most of your November day. Maybe the night before you felt defeated, discouraged, and cried all the way home, and then got lost for an hour and a half on 476 because of the crying, and you didn't get home until midnight so you got almost no sleep and then woke up for your nine hour work day. And in the middle of that nine hour work day, your roommate is texting you that the house is a mess, and you need to get your shit together, and the loan company is leaving you voicemails about wanting to take away all your money so that by the time you walk in the door, you feel like you just got hit by a cargo train, carrying Christmas-wrapped punches in the face.

What I'm trying to say is, even when you're trying your best to have a best-November-day, you still might have a bad day.

But this is what I love about the November project. I'm not trying to tell you that every day of November is going to the best day of your life, but days can still be extraordinary without being wonderful.

Let me explain.

Today, Day 2 of the November Project, was: “Call a friend you haven't spoken to in 6 months.” And God willing, one of my sisters was getting a call whether they wanted to talk to me or not. And I'm thrilled that after years of knowing me inside and out, Hannah still wants to hear my spastic voice through the phone. As you would imagine, we caught up on each other's lives and laughed at each other's almost-funny stories, but what made this November day special is not the actual words we said to each other—it was reconnecting with someone who knows me for me and shares in my happinesses. Who reminds me of what I have to offer. Who, when I tell her that my relationship is not only going well, but it's one of the only things I feel is “perfectly right” about my life, she says, “You deserve this. Not only because you deserve someone who loves you, but because I know what you've been through to get here. You deserve to feel loved.”

And that is what made my November 2^nd extraordinary.

Day 1!

Day 1: Find a quote. Memorize it. Live by it today.

[D]: "In the end, our own personal happiness is about figuring out what makes us feel the most ourselves, and living that way--and to hell with what anybody else thinks.” -Lisa Scottoline

[H]: "Don't do anything halfway, unless you're willing to be half happy.” -How Do You Know

I never thought I’d get inspiration from a movie with Owen Wilson, Reece Witherspoon, Paul Rudd and Jack Nicholson, but it works! Both our quotes today capture the essence of what the November projo is all about---- doing things that will make YOU happy and following through all the way!

I’ve always been a fan of finding words to match my emotions…. A few months ago, Danielle and I started emailing back and forth a Quote of the Day (QOTD). Today, and over 70 quotes later, we find words to match our mood each day. It’s a nice reminder that we’re not alone in our emotions!

So today, I hope everyone find words to match how YOU feel! Find something that inspires you, speaks to you, or simply makes you smile! I plan on writing mine down at my computer desk and bathroom mirror as a constant reminder of the November Project!

Whats your quote today!? Comment & share below!

Happy November 1!

I always believed in futures. I hope for better, in November.

Danielle: The November Project was born out of a monotonous routine by two college girls on November 1st, 2008.

Holly and I became instant friends when we started at Wingate University in 2005 in our Wingate 101, "Welcome to College" seminar. An adjective ice-breaker helped us to remember each other as "Happy Holly" and "Daring Danielle." Holly's uplifting personality and my desire for constant adventure led the two of us to become fast friends in our freshman year, sorority sisters in our sophomore, best friends in our junior, and roommates in our senior.

And through the years, I made fun of Holly relentlessly for her over-use of cliches. Whenever I was having a bad day, I heard, "Everything happens for a reason, right?" When I was homesick, "Home is where the heart is, right?" And my favorite, "We should be living every day like it's our last, right?"

Sometimes I wanted to punch her in her silver lining.

Holly: So let’s rewind three years to October 2008. October was a rough month for both of us. Senior year and living with 3 of my best friends—sounds like the perfect situation. Well in October, nothing was right. It wasn’t ending up to be the picture-perfect Senior year we imagined. Do you know that feeling? You’re a few months shy of a new chapter, new beginning, and excited to leave everything familiar behind and start over new… but you just can’t seem to make the best of the time you have!

D: I knew something had to be done when "Happy Holly" didn't seem so happy anymore. And neither did I. I called my friends at Appalachian State University at 10:00 at night, and told them we were leaving Wingate, North Carolina to drive through the night and come visit them. We got there at 12:00AM on November 1st.

The trip was just what we needed—the people, the spontaneity, the newly formed inside jokes. We were rejuvenated. Refreshed. But we were a two and a half hour drive away from returning to our monotonous, stressful lives. Back to Holly’s cliches to keep us motivated just enough to get through the semester.

H: Have you ever been on a long car ride? Now, have you ever been on a long car ride with Danielle or myself? As imagined, there wasn’t a lot of quiet time. We talked the whole way about the night before and our futures. So after this perfectly carpe-diem night [D: See, I told you] we decided not to waste our time being sad and just coasting; we decided we would hope for better!

D: If November 1st could be this great, couldn't the rest of the month? We agreed that living every day like it's your last is just not possible or practical. You can not jump out of airplanes, stay up all night with friends, drink cranberry vodkas until you're dizzy, and solve world peace every day of your life—but you can pick just ONE MONTH every year to look forward to. To do something every day for thirty days that makes your life happy.

And every year since 2008, Holly and I look forward to November. We keep each other accountable, we go to new places and try new things, and do our best to make November a month that counts for something more than the ordinary every-day. November is our motivation to live a better life.

I hope you'll follow along with us as we post every day in the month of November to share our life experiences with you. I hope you'll try to make the next 30 days your best month of the year.

H: And we need YOUR help! We want everyone’s November to be as fabulous as ours! Join us in the November project. Comment, follow, begin, do, and enjoy.

All our love,

Danielle & Holly