Something new

A couple new things today. First up is the pod-club pick of the week. It comes to us from an entirely new source for me, recommended by fellow pod-clubber Rachael. I have, in the past, thoroughly enjoyed all her recommendations and I fully believe this will be no different. Introducing:

Episode 161: "I don't believe in the concept of hell, but if I did, I would think of it as filled with people who were cruel to animals."

(listen for free either through the link or on i-Tunes)

If you feel like being adventurous with me this week, please join us in listening to this podcast and then you can share your thoughts with us Friday. Or, if you are super private, you can just keep them to yourself.

Here is my other new thing this week: I have started oil pulling. I kept running into things about it on my searches through the internet so when I saw Coconut oil at Fred Meyer I decided I would try it out. I have also used the oil as a pre-wash conditioner on my hair and loved the results, so I will for sure be doing that at least once a week. So far I have only completed the oil-pulling twice and it was much easier than I'd anticipated. When I read that it needed to be done first thing in the morning for 15-20 minutes I was all "uhm, that's a long time." But, I've found that it goes by super fast. I put the oil in my mouth as soon as I roll out of bed, before my morning pee, and by the time I'm done making coffee, feeding the cats, tidying up the kitchen a bit - I am almost done. My main reason to try it out was to see if it would help my teeth and gums, I think two days in is a little soon to say whether or not it's working but I will keep you updated. If you want to read more about it for yourself here is an small, easy to read article:

Heal and Detox with Oil Pulling: the what, why and how

New things are fun! Are you doing anything new?

Could I be any more obvious?

Have I mentioned before how my life is fueled by music? I have? Well, then my thought process in this post should make total sense.

The other day I redeveloped my love for Lily Allen and discovered my love of Kate Miller-Heidke; they both reminded me that I used to be much sassier and that I used to be able to enjoy the male population however I deemed necessary at the time. I have listened to the following songs so many times in the past few days that were they tapes the ribbon would have worn out...but luckily they are digital recordings and they can't even get scratched or skip. Hooray technology!

Kate Miller-Heidke - God's Gift to Women

Lily Allen - Never Gonna Happen

I really wish that sending someone lyrics was an appropriate way to communicate because I can always find a song that says what I'm wanting to say in a much better way. 

If you're happy and you know it...

I've been thinking about something lately, I don't have it all worked out yet but I'm hoping that typing words will help me sort it all out.

I take joy in a lot of things. I notice the warmth and weight of my blankets in the morning as I wake up, I relish in the moments that my girl kitty cuddles up next to me, I smile as my hips pop when I stretch...and this is all before I even get out of bed. I then go on to thoroughly, but momentarily, hate the cold tile floor under my feet as I make coffee. But then I go back to enjoying things...like actually drinking my coffee, checking my emails, catching up on shows from the night before. I am completely entertained listening to podcasts, creating fake music videos in my head, giving myself fancy make-up for no reason, reading....
Needless to say I consider myself someone who is easily entertained, a girl who loves to laugh and just enjoy whatever is happening.
I recently met and spent some time around someone who made me question myself. This person was EXCITED about everything. And, I do mean everything. Was I excited to be watching a movie I'd seen tens of times? Not necessarily. Was I happy to be watching it? Yes. Did I enjoy the movie? Absolutely. But excited? No. How about eating a burrito, was I excited to be eating it? Nope. Was I glad I had food to eat that tasted good? Yup, but still not excited. What I've come to is this: if everything is exciting then, in essence, nothing is exciting. So, while I can find entertainment, joy, happiness, and sometimes sadness in the little things - I am convinced that saving my excitement for the bigger things is the way to go.
I am in touch with my feelings, I feel the appropriate things at the appropriate times for the appropriate things. However, I think some people might be well served in checking this chart:

Did eating that burrito make you feel aroused, perky, or antsy? Hmmm...probably not, or at least I hope not. did it perhaps instead make you feel satisfied or contented? Then maybe you should just stick to the word "happy." 

Is there some reason that being "happy" isn't good enough? If I make it to the end of the day and I can say it was a good one, that it was fulfilling, satisfying and happy then I think that is a successful day. Even if I've had a mostly sad day but I can realize that doesn't mean my next day has to be the same, I count that day as a success. I do not need every day, or every moment of the day to be exciting and I think that is as it should be.

Coin Toss

There isn't an official pod-club pick this week so, I'm taking this opportunity to do something a little different but still related. Last week I listened to this podcast from Freakonomics. I think you should listen to it, but if you don't feel like it I'll sum it up for ya. It is a collection of stories where people make big life choices based on a coin toss. They then reveal that they have decided to create an experiment where they will flip a virtual coin for you to help you make up your mind.
Are you thinking of making a big (or small) life choice but you can't seem to make up your mind? Let's let them help us out.

Heads or Tails?

I am going to do it. I have a few things I would like someone else to decide for me and I do not mind supporting Freakonomics since they have entertained me for many hours and taught me many, many things. Will you play along with me, please? If so, you should tell me about it.

For....

I just finished watching Harry Potter 7.2, for maybe the millionth time after reading the books a thousand and one times. I sat with tears streaking my face for the entire second half of the movie and I thought to myself: "really Jill, after all this time?" And I answered, "Always."

Wiggle Waggle

I have been stung by bees twice in my life. Most recently, last summer and it was painful. I cursed the bee that got me and felt a little satisfaction that the bee would soon be dead because it's stinger was left in my calf.
So, I wasn't sure I wanted to learn more about these little buggers but I like "Stuff You Should Know" so I knew I would entertained. I had no idea I would actually wind up thinking "oh, that's cute" or "hmmm, that's sad" while learning about bees.
Did you listen this week? If so, you probably know what I thought was so cute...bees dancing. Did you know bees dance? They do, and it's called the "waggle dance." Is that not the cutest name for an informative dance you've ever heard?

The Waggle Dance:

I don't think any of them are going to win on So You Think You Can Dance anytime soon but they sure know how to shake their money makers. I also love how attentive all the other bees are, I wonder if they ever get stage fright with that many pairs of eyes on them.

The thing I thought was sad? Solitary bees lay their little bee eggs and then just go off and die. The little bee mamas never meet the babies and the babies never have mamas. I got a little sad, but then I realized that they probably don't even have the part of the brain necessary to feel those emotions so they don't even feel sad...so why should I feel sad? I got over it. Mostly.

The other thing this episode made me want to do was go out and buy more honey. Yes, even after listening to the facts that really honey is just bee vomit. Which, is gross but delicious. I'm gonna go have some honey right now, in my coffee, and then I'm going to head on over to see what Just Me Actually had to say about bees this week. It's probably something wonderful.

BEES! Let's learn about 'em...

With less than a million neurons in their tiny head, bees shouldn't be able to do much more than eat, sleep and reproduce. And yet, bees are capable of high functions like population economics and navigating by the sun on overcast days. 

Stuff You Should Know

listen here, at this link, or as always it's free on i-Tunes

I like learning about things, do you? Let's learn some things together!