Filling the Well (3)

Mini-Cooper felt a little out of place...feeling like a bit of a Lilliputian. We wanted him to feel a little more secure, so now he's got a house of his own. He seems proud, doesn't he?

Never, ever underestimate the importance of having fun."—Randy Pausch

You guys! It is SO true. SO stinking true! And yet, I keep forgetting. I keep forgetting to make fun a top priority.

How about you? If you're like me, you have a list about ten miles long of things you want to do, need to do, should do. My own list is so long right now that I'm thinking about going on a solo vacation just to get more done (we'll call this a writers retreat...more on that another week!)

But because there are are things to do, bills to pay, children to feed, a job to do, well...sometimes fun falls to the bottom of the list. Because hello? I can have fun later, right?

So if you know a single, solitary person that has died a single day earlier than they should have, you know the answer to that question. You know, as I know, that life(!!!) and living (!!!) and eff. you. en. FUN (!!!!) have to be the real priorities. If it seems like I'm beating on the same old drum, forgive me. But I find that I need to hear this again and again. And again. Life is short. Make it count. Have some fun.

As I've said before, we don't get out much. So most of our fun has to happen in-house or with our kids. Here's how I've been filling my well lately. 

• Food You guys...food will always be on this list. It's just so good! And this month, I've been cracking open and eating (and drinking) young coconut! I have to be honest...I don't love it. But I feel really tropical and capable (they're hard as hell to open) when I have one so I think it's a trend that could last a while. People...I am CRACKING COCONUTS IN MY KITCHEN. I have never felt so accomplished. 
• Entertainment You know how last month I was all over Spotify like it was brand new and I was like Christopher Columbus and just discovered it? (I know Christopher Columbus isn't always a favorite, but go with me here). Well, this month, I made another 'new-to-me' discovery and it's called a PODCAST. Not just any podcast, but SERIAL. Oh holy goodness...you have to listen. At least to Season 1 (I've heard Season 2 isn't quite as good). It is absolutely the perfect accompaniment to folding mounds of laundry or painting...anything where you can concentrate on what is being said. No watching involved. Check it out and then tell me how much you love it. And whether you think he is guilty or not (I'm not telling you anything else about it). We've also been checking out old episodes of The Twilight Zone. It's totally as creepy and good as you remember.
• My kids Oh you guys...thank goodness I like them because I am with them a lot. And yet, they continue to crack me up. My daughter, in particular, has gotten to the 'really honest' point of her life, where she's just casually pointing out my every flaw. We were flipping through pictures the other day and she came across this gem from my eighth grade graduation dance. Her exact words?           "Oh mom, you poor thing." Did I mention that she is seven? And totally right?

You can't see it from here, but even the gloves (the gloves!) had ruffles.

• Music So I don't know if I mentioned this to you before, but one of my regular assignments is to cover locally playing bands. One that I recently covered sent me a cd and I am obsessed. The band is Burning Bridget Cleary and they're an Irish band. I didn't think I had any special preference for Irish music, but guys, ILOVE THIS CD. So good.
• Books ​I usually really do read a lot but I feel like I'm a little behind. Two of the books that I'm reading are non-fiction books that are in some way instructive, so those take me a little longer. So those are A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson (I'm trying to be a little nicer) and The Art of Memoir  by Mary Karr (this one should be kind of obvious). I also recently finished The Rosie Project and the follow-up, The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion (loved both, but wasn't totally sure I liked the portrayal of Asperger's...would love to know your thoughts), The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (made me want to spend LOTS of time with my husband) and The Marathon by my dear friend, Kerry Sheeran (made me want to hug my kids, and then email Kerry, which I did). 

I hope you're all finding ways to fill yourselves up with fun out there! Enjoy your week, your day, your bits of sunshine! 

XO...Danielle