Hello people!
After barely ever posting on this blog, I ambitiously created a new one. Follow it at runhappyhealth.com. I’ve always wanted to create a healthy lifestyle blog… so I finally did. I’ll post random rants, recipes and all things happy, healthy and encouraging!
Just a new fun, creative outlet — since apparently I don’t have enough of that in my life.
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The other day I was utterly appalled when someone I know made a rape joke. A group of people I was in walked past a woman standing alone on the street in the dark and as we passed, he said, “Oh, that lady was standing all alone. Should we go back and rape her real quick?”
No, it wasn’t intended to harm anyone and no, it wasn’t a big deal, just a harmless comment — to him. But it really bothered me. I couldn’t believe that people actually make jokes like this. I mean, I know it happens… but really? Come on dude. What does that even mean? Like what did he hope to accomplish by saying that?
In the moment, I simply told him that rape jokes are never okay and to please never say that around me again. But I wish I would have had the chance to explain why.
As a woman, I am told not to stand or walk on the street by myself at night. Always find someone to walk you home. I love running outside, but I have to wait until daylight. I’ve taken a self-defense class and hold a key pointing out while I run to my car when leaving somewhere late at night. I tell my girlfriends to text me so I know they got home safe. This is my reality, so excuse me if I don’t think your jokes are funny. Sexual assault is real and happens to 1 out of 6 American women. That’s not joke material.
I am hoping that this was just a lapse in judgement, foot-in-mouth kind of moment. It happens, I know. But PLEASE — open up your mind and put a little more thought and care into your words.
This goes for many different things. You never know what someone else is going through. Let’s all try to be a little more aware.
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I can’t stop listening to John Mayer and daydreaming about floating on the Yellowstone River. I am constantly torn between wanting to live a normal life and abandoning everything to go live on top of a mountain. Maybe I’ll just write some novels and live off the land. That’s a real dream, right? My sister would come with me. In fact, she said she’ll start calling some realtors today (joke).
I Instagrammed about this but it wasn’t enough. It is ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT. Help. Good thing I get to go back to this state in just a few weeks.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHNUT-Gj2cq/?taken-by=emjewen
Sigh. I love this song.
Also, I’m officially signed up for an actual full marathon. Yikes. Three months to get my life into shape.
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Whenever it’s a rainy Monday (or any gloomy day, really) I break out The Carpenters and am instantly cheered up. Why did I not grow up in the 70s? Also, PSA: the entire Brady Bunch series is now on Hulu.
I wish that everyone had to walk around with their Myers Briggs personality written on their forehead (or a name tag would be fine I guess). Then I wouldn’t have to creepily ask everyone I meet, “Have you taken the Myers Briggs? What is your personality? Let’s discuss it in depth.” (Okay maybe I leave out the discussion part, but I will secretly wish that you’ll contemplate your life with me).
Here I go, writing about myself again (well, it is my blog). I’m completely copying the below from a Thought Catalog article because I feel like I could have written it myself. All of these things are way too accurate. So if you ever meet an INFJ, this is probably what’s happening in their brain.
I also realize that all of this might sound kind of dumb to other people. Like why do you care so much about personalities? Idk psychology is interesting, yo.
Struggles Only INFJs Will Understand
And here are some more songs because… rainy Monday. 🙂
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I keep seeing these DUMB things in the news about Japanese social media trends where girls are taking pictures to show that their waist is skinnier than a piece of paper or that their legs are thinner than an iPhone screen.
And today in the news, The Japan Society of Eating Disorders reports that treatment for eating disorders in Japan is “inadequate” and that the pressure to be thin has “gone too far.” Well DUH guys.
As someone who has navigated the ins and outs of disordered eating, I like to keep up with this stuff. I am passionate about it. But it’s not something people like to talk about. Like any mental illness, it’s an uncomfortable topic that often goes unnoticed until it’s almost too late.
I suppose I could share articles and rant about my thoughts on my own social media, but would that really do any good? For today, I just need to get some thoughts out, so here is where I’ll put them.
It is our every day thoughts and actions that cause things like this to happen. It’s a side comment from a family member, teacher or coach, who maybe meant no harm at all, maybe not even directed at you, that spirals into thoughts of “I need to be better” and “Why do I look like this?”
Of course we already know it’s about being constantly bombarded with images of seemingly perfect-looking people and ads for weight loss nonsense, but it’s a lot deeper than that. It’s the way people talk about body image. I’m all for body positivity, but why does it have to be such a big deal? Why do we make such a big deal about putting “plus size” women in Sports Illustrated? I mean, that’s great. But talking about how it “makes history” and how she’s a role model for plus size women everywhere is just more labeling and objectifying.
Constantly hearing things like, “she must have gained weight” or “she’s so skinny” or “I shouldn’t have eaten that” or “you’re wasting away over there” or ANYTHING relating to body image is what causes this to happen. People often think they’re giving a compliment, but they don’t realize the damage it can do.
I recently got fitted for a bridesmaid dress and the woman that was measuring me would not stop making comments about my body. “You’re so tall! I can’t believe how tall you are! How tall are you? You’re like a good tall though, not like a bulky, football player tall.” Maybe I’m being too sensitive, but come on, what does that even mean? It made me so uncomfortable. So much so that I’m still thinking about it weeks later.
If it were up to me, no one would talk about it at all. In my opinion, in order for this to get better, the focus on body image needs to end.
I definitely don’t think I’m going to change the world or anything, but I sometimes wish I had the courage to call people out when this happens. I’ve at least tried to explain it to those that I am close to, but I’m still not sure that people get it.
In my perfect world, it would all go away. There would be no Meghan Trainor songs about skinny bitches, no stupid articles about “how to shop for jeans based on your figure,” no entire magazine issues geared towards plus-sized women and no ad campaigns claiming to only use “real, un-retouched models.” My examples mostly have to do with women (because I am one so that’s what I pay attention to), but this definitely affects all genders.
I know what it’s like to put immense pressure on yourself to be perfect, whatever your definition of perfect may be. I’ve done it my entire life. But I’ve finally realized that what you look like on the outside doesn’t matter. It’s how you feel on the inside. If your brain and your body are healthy, you can put two feet on the ground every morning, then who the F cares? Be whoever you want to be.
I guess the point of this is: be mindful of what you say. You never know who could be listening and take it to heart. Also I am scared to post this, but I will anyway.
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This is a list of things I want to do. I’m putting them here in hopes that it will encourage me to actually accomplish them.
Paint more – I have SO much painting and art supplies that just sit around. I’ve made progress on this recently. I have some visions. I feel a watercolor phase coming on…
Read more books – This is currently a work in progress. I downloaded the Goodreads app in hopes that it will help me read more real books. So far I’m doing pretty well, thank you Hennepin County Library. I need to get better at reading on my iPad, but I just prefer holding an actual book and turning real paper pages.
(Re)Learn to play guitar – I took lessons in middle school but I was lame and too obsessed with basketball to actually stick with it. Now my sister makes me videos of herself singing and playing guitar and I want to learn so badly. If only someone would leave a guitar with a FREE sign on the side of the road and I could serendipitously (that’s not a real word but it should be) happen upon it. That would be lovely.
Become a yoga instructor – HOW COOL WOULD THIS BE? I think about this all the time but then get caught up in thoughts like “I don’t look like I could be a yoga instructor” or “I’m not good enough at yoga” but I should probably just shut up and figure out my life. Yoga has helped me so much with my anxiety and overall strength as a person and I would love to be able to pass that on to others.
Skydive – My dad told me he would go skydiving with me for my 18th birthday. Well, guess what: I’m turning 24 in 10 days and it never happened. Someday, I guess.
Do more creative writing – Writing and researching about medical billing, employment litigation, how to market your credit union and toll free phone numbers can sure squash (squelsh? oh I made up another word) the spark of writing creativity in my brain. (Except for when I make a reference to salmon in an article about small business marketing #B2Bwritingnerd). ANYWAY, I always wish I was better at descriptively painting a picture, so I should probably practice by writing more stories, real and fictional. Maybe I should look into a creative writing class. That would be pretty neat(o).
Of course, there are approximately 890 million other things I want to do (and should do), but these are just the ones I was thinking about today.
In other news, if you’re looking for a great movie and feel like bawling your eyes out, I would highly recommend God’s Not Dead 2 (and the first one).
Also, here are some good songs:
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It’s about time I wrote a post like this.
Yesterday my sister texted me, “Let’s go back to the days of driving to Ho Fam in the morning. I feel like we didn’t treasure those days enough.”
My response was “We never treasure any days enough.”
But back then, the simple days were easy to take for granted. Now that I don’t get to see her shining, brilliant face every day, I would love to have some of that time back.
“I think we are as BFF now as we are because we had 20 minutes every morning together and it was our time to make each other un-krabe,” she texted back.
While we owe our sister-ship to a lot more than just those morning drives to school, it definitely sparked something in our relationship. Except for the time I pressed the panic button and instead of helping me turn it off she ran away while people stared and laughed. Still not over it.
We did our best to make that 20 minute drive interesting every single day. Sometimes I would spill coffee all over my white uniform shirt and we’d have to turn around so I could go back and change. Other times I would yell “2 point turn!” (why?) and then back into a snow bank. Many times (like at least 5) the trunk would magically open while we were driving down the highway and we’d have to pull over to shut it (THE TRUNK IS OPEN!!!!). I would make her listen to the same Sugarland and Carrie Underwood songs over and over and one time (in an emergency situation) we had to wipe off the frosty side mirrors with a moldy peanut butter and honey sandwich. And it would be wrong not to mention “Orange Beefer,” aka the guy driving some sort of orange hatchback we saw every single morning without fail. It was a time where we got to yell and be ourselves.
And not every pair of sisters has their very own set of theme days of the week. Even seven years later, Blanche Deveraux Monday, Monkey Baby Tuesday, Hoo Hoo Haa Wednesday, Emotional Thursday and Squirrel-motional Friday still make every day a little brighter.
So all of that reminiscing was purely for my own entertainment, but no one reads this anyway. Also, this is for Loonn.
My sister is the strongest person I know. Her dedication to helping people and determination to making the world a better place are truly inspiring. I strive to emulate her independence and strength every single day. Sometimes I even steal her clothes to be more like her. She laughs at my jokes and calls me out when I’m being dumb (or being the french fry). She also provides me with street smarts because I tend to be the sheltered one.
Basically, she’s going to change the world and I can’t wait to see all that she will accomplish (cliche, I know. Sue me. No. Don’t sue me. That is the opposite of the point I’m trying to make).
Everyone deserves someone who understands them completely (hopefully even more than one person), and my sister is that beautiful person for me. How did I get so lucky?
Her blog is better than mine because she has real stuff to say, so you should probably read it. Especially this post, because it’s about me. Aren’t we so cute just writing blogs to profess our love for each other? blehhhh
Thanks for letting me name your fish. Love you, girlie.
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It’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these. I was lacking inspiration to blog for a few months but now I think I’m ready to start back up. Where is my life? February is a short month I suppose, but wow, it flew by. I’ve had this discussion with a few post grads– that time seems to go much faster now that we’re working full time jobs instead of in school. The weekends are even more precious. I would say I miss certain things about college, but I definitely don’t miss it as a whole. The real world is scary, but it’s growing on me. On to da favorites:
Justin’s Vanilla Almond Butter
I tried this in a little packet a few weeks ago and OMG is it amazing. You can find me eating almonds and almond butter all day every day (pronounced ah-mond). I also really like the Maple Almond Butter, the Honey Almond Butter and the Chocolate Hazelnut Butter. NUT BUTTER CRAZE.
Brownie Brittle
Okay another food item. I made the mistake of trying this at a friend’s house and these are ridiculous. I think they’re trying to market them as like a “healthier” way to enjoy a brownie since they are just crispy little things, but I’m on to their marketing tactics. And they’re really not that horrible for you (unless you eat an entire Costco-sized bag). But they taste exactly like brownie batter. Danger.
Running
Fitness time. I’m forcing this to be a favorite so that I will be motivated to keep up with my half marathon training. I’m even starting to be that girl who takes her lunch hour to go on a run outside. Blame it on encouraging, awesome coworkers. I have my little printed out training chart and I’m ready to make some check marks.
Yoga
I’ve been pretty consistent with doing yoga 3 times a week and it is really making a difference in my life. It’s fun to see myself get stronger and be able to attempt crazy poses I never thought I could. It’s also just the best way to detox your brain from too many thoughts.
I can’t think of anything else interesting to include. I was going to say my winter coat is a favorite but that is weird and boring.
Happy March! Spring… hurry up.
(someone play the harmonica for me)
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A few days ago I overheard a conversation about writers block. Good story… but it got me thinking about writers block and what it means to me, you know, being a writer and all. (But how can you experience writers block when you write about Ninja Turtle skateboards???)
I feel like I would post way more on this blog if I actually knew what I wanted to write about. Or felt like I could say half the things I wanted to. Every now and then I’ll have a gem of a post but most of the time I seem to just cryptically ramble on about my life. Which… is interesting to me (and my mom), but probably not to the average person.
I still don’t even know what the point of this is, but I guess that’s okay. I started this blog a little over a year ago to practice my WordPress and writing skillz since it is relevant to my current career path. I don’t really have any specialties or important information… just a lot of feels to share. This is the second blog I have made in my lifetime as the first was weird and secretive and I only had like 2 posts about how much I love my sister (typical).
I find comfort in words and stringing them into sentences. There’s nothing like organizing your thoughts on the lines of a page. I love hotel pens (steal them always) and composition notebooks. Last week I had to drag myself away from spending $50 in the notebook/pen aisle of Target. I guess when I have writers block I will just profess my love for writing until it decides to unblock itself (wait wut).
In other news, it’s been two weeks since my impulse purchase of the day was registering for a half marathon on May 3rd. It needs to get warm out because I freaking hate treadmills and the coldest I’ll go for an outside run is 20 degrees. I’m excited though; it’s been a long-time goal for me to do a half marathon. Who knows maybe I’ll even do a whole marathon one day.
Here comes another 8 to 5 week…
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A few weeks ago they announced that everyone would be required to take the StrengthsFinder assessment at my job. It’s only been a little over 2 months since I took it last, but A LOT has changed since then so I thought it would be interesting to see if my results were any different.
In case you need a refresher on what StrengthsQuest is…
What is StrengthsQuest?
Your StrengthsQuest journey begins with a 30-minute online assessment, the Clifton StrengthsFinder. This assessment has helped more than 9 million people around the world discover their talents.
After you take the Clifton StrengthsFinder, you’ll receive a customized report that lists your top five talent themes, along with action items for development and suggestions about how you can use your talents to achieve academic, career, and personal success (strengthsquest.com).
Today we received the link to take the assessment and it was sort of difficult for me to just clear my mind and complete it. I kept focusing on what I knew my strengths were and seeing if my answers would get me the same results. But anyway, my results were fairly similar to last time, with one new and one old popping back up.
So in 2009 I had:
Adaptability
Positivity
Responsibility
Futuristic
Maximizer
In November 2014 I had:
Futuristic
Achiever
Empathy
Consistency
Positivity
And February 2015:
Consistency
Empathy
Futuristic
Harmony – new
Maximzer – old
Dang I was hoping for that positivity (lolz). If you feel like reading explanations of the first 3, plz feel free to go to this post from November.
I feel like Harmony could have been a 6th strength the last 2 times I took the assessment. It’s all about avoiding conflict, seeking peaceful situations, being a moderator/peacemaker and that is totally me. Sometimes it’s not a good thing because I tend to accept things the way they are or sweep issues under the rug until they are bottled up (there must be a bottle under the rug). I’ve been known to do that. That’s another good thing about this assessment. It can be a good indicator of your strengths, but it also reminds you that extreme versions of those strengths can be a bit harmful.
I was actually surprised to see Maximizer pop back up. This one is confusing to me at times, but after re-reading the explanation, I can see how it fits. It’s the reason I love doing these assessment and personality things. I LOVE learning about my (and others’) strengths. I could care less about weaknesses. Yes, we all have weaknesses, but focusing on strengths is much more fun and productive. If you know your strengths and what you’re good at, you might as well capitalize on that and give it all you got, man. So that’s my motivational speech for the day.
In other news, moving sucks but it’s probably because I am impatient and lazy. Exciting, G times though. Also, birthday shout out to my sister, Loonn. She took a sociology exam and ate a taco today. Now she is going have her first legal huckleberry vodka lemonade. Only in Mont.
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What I Know 