Making the Most of a Moment

Happy Saturday! The sun has come out and it's going to be a beautiful day for a BBQ (or 2)!

The other day I was up late putting away groceries. It was taking longer than expected (probably because I was taking pictures for the blog!) and I started getting really worked up about everything I had left to do before bed. I was visibly stressed out so Katie said "Can't the bread just stay on the counter overnight?" I didn't react as graciously as I should have to her advice at the time, but I thought about it and she has a good point. Why did I let putting the groceries away stress me out so much?! If I would have just taken a second to calm down I would have been able to see that it was not that big of a deal. The bread could have waited.

I have this problem where something little will upset me and I let it fester and ruin several hours of my day. I hold on to that annoyed, hurt, or angry feeling but don't actually deal with the thing that upset me. The unfortunate thing is that it's usually something really small! If I just took a moment to think about it, digest it, and do something about it, it would be over and done with.

Yesterday, I encountered a similar situation. Before I left work, something annoying happened that put me in a crusty mood. On my walk home, I realized that it was really nice out, the sun was shining, and it was Friday after work! I did NOT want to start my weekend in a bad mood. I thought about the nice weather and wearing summer dresses again and how happy it makes me. Then I realized, "Why don't I do that tonight? What's stopping me?!" It was as if a light bulb turned on - I have the power to put myself in a good mood and do something that will make me happy. Why torture myself with this grumpiness?!

Katie and I had plans to go to dinner with Katie's mom. I came home, got dressed up. This is something that I love to do, but don't do often enough because I feel like I need an occasion for it...hmmmmm, note to self.

We headed downtown to pick up Katie's mom, and strolled around the Old Market on our way to the restaurant. The Old Market is one of my favorite areas of Omaha. It is a historical downtown area that has lots of restaurants and shops within walking distance. There are old, converted warehouses, cobblestone streets, and tons of charm.

Katie and her Mama:

The restaurant we were going to, Trini's, is a little Mexican place located in an indoor group of shops known as The Passageway. The Passageway is kind of like two buildings facing each other where all of the shop entrances spill out into...a passageway. The ceiling is a huge skylight and there are fountains and lots of plants, so it feels like you are outside.

I love all of that exposed brick!

For dinner I had a margarita and the vegetarian plate that had a cheese enchilada, a guacamole tostada, and rice. It was really good - but a lot of food! I ate about 3/4 of the enchilada (my favorite part of the plate), 1/4 of the tostada (it got soggy with all that guac), and 1/2 of the rice.

It was still nice out when we finished dinner, so we walked around a little more. A local music shop, Homer's, recently moved locations and had filled a dumpster with discarded LPs. People were going crazy for them!

After dinner, we met up with Laura and her sister Eileen, to celebrate our friend Kyle's birthday.

Eileen & Laura:

Katie & I:

Katie and I split a $5 pitcher - what a deal!

After the party I was happy to come home and crash. I was so excited to get to sleep in! My alarm has been my worst enemy this week.

This morning I got up and made a tasty breakfast. I had coffee, a mix of strawberries & bananas, and an over-medium egg on flatbread with swiss and sauteed spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes. And a little hot sauce. Yum, yum, yum!

And now we're off to BBQ #1 - Katie's brother is turning the big 3-0! See you later!

How do you get yourself out of a bad mood? Do you get 'stuck in a funk' or can you shake it off?