Lately I’ve had a case of the blah’s. What are the blah’s you ask? The blah’s are when you can’t quite seem to shake a dark cloud over your head. Your shoulders feel weighty, smiles are harder to come by, you may be grouchy at odd times for no apparent reason. Nothing has gone horribly wrong. But the blah’s…..they remain.
It could be because I just barely survived the rainy season – April is my least appreciated month in Seattle. It could be because I’ve been juggling a lot at work – including some projects that aren’t my favorite. It could be because I’m still consumed with the remodel and making a ton of choices which started out fun, but are now becoming wicked time-consuming – just this week I’m finalizing the details on over 60 lights – yes, 60 – for our house. That is an awful lot of lights. And I love lighting.
Or it could be for a number of other reasons. But anyway. Blah. Blah. Blah.
So this blog is devoted to my top ways to cure the blah’s.
- Watch your favorite movie, hopefully one that makes you laugh. Check out for the night. No working. No social media. No laundry. No nothing but sitting on the couch. Focusing on doing nothing. For me, the choice was easy this week. Couple’s Retreat, obviously. This may be the best movie of all time. Vince Vaughn. Jason Bateman. A ridiculous storyline about a set of couples that have been married awhile and need a spark, so off they go to Tahiti. Not only does it make me want to go to Tahiti, I laugh out loud. Many, many times. Every single time. This is an old movie at this point. So old I couldn’t find it on Netflix. So I bought it from Comcast for $6.95. This may be the best $6.95 I’ve ever spent.
- Watch something else that makes you smile and reminds you of the ridiculousness of life. This one is easy for me too. I have a huge crush on James Corden of the Late, Late Show. I rarely watch him live – only on YouTube. I could seriously watch Carpool Karaoke skits for hours. He is so ridiculously funny. And he gets the musicians to do silly things where they all crack up. Laughter is contagious and he makes me laugh. A close second is Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake’s History of Rap. Also epic and awesome. There are like six different versions – the first few are the best. The songs of my youth all mashed together in hilarious fashion. Amazing.
- Cuddle with people you love. One of my favorite ways to end the day is hanging out in my oldest daughter’s bed. We’ll talk to her friends on FaceTime, look at ridiculous meme videos, and watch YouTube. It’s ultimate chill time. And if I’m lucky, her brother will join us and we’re like puppies piled into a bed. And Zoe of course. Because wherever I am, so is Zoe. Who is really a big puppy in the bed.
- Dance party!!! I love music. I love to dance. I’m sure I always will. Even when I’m an old grandma and just rocking it at weddings, hopefully in a cool “rock on grandma!” kind of way. You can really have a dance party pretty much anywhere. My car is an awesome dance party location. I’m not fazed at all if people stare. I just smile and add more energy. It’s best to have room to move though. So my living room is my best option currently. This can be done to any music you like. Right now, my youngest daughter is really into this crazy fitness instructor called the Fitness Marshall. He teaches you how to dance while giving you a work-out! And he is silly funny and says sayings that make me laugh like “Toot your horn! No one else is going to!”
- Exercise. It’s really true what they say about endorphins. They give you a boost. Heavy things don’t seem that heavy anymore. I met my girlfriend for a run the other morning and it was immediately mood-lifting. Both the run and the girl talk. Tomorrow morning I’ll have to go solo, but I know I’ll have more energy, more smiles, and less blah’s because I’ve started my day on the move.
So there you have it! I hope you never have a case of the blah’s. But if you do, these five steps are full-proof ways to shake them off. Promise.
The Redefining 