Hump Day Distractions

Hump Day Photobomb.

Another week, another Wednesday my friends. Here's new batch of distractions from around the web to get you through to the other side. Enjoy!

* Because you definitely need more rainbow-colored sheep in your life.

* Ziplock bags always make me feel super wasteful and un-eco-friendly. Perhaps THESE are a solution!?

* Some more fall fashion tips (including one awesome fall trend I definitely overlooked on Monday, hooray for hats!!!)

* This recipe is tailgate food perfection (or any time really... when isn't a good time for a mini hotdog!?).

* This story of a terminally ill 29-year old woman who is electing to end her own life is sad, touching and thought provoking. I encourage you to take a few minutes to learn about Brittany.

* Part of her wonderful "Motherhood Around the World" series, CupofJo asks Moms from other countries to comment on motherhood in America. The feedback is fascinating!

* I do love flamingos... 

* This is like joy overdrive.

dresses and grass

This post brought to you by the fabulous 

(parent)thetically speaking.

First of all, guys, I'm blushing over here. How sweet is that Merry Meri of ours? She totally has my back with the blog that I started, and some of you have even checked it out! Hope you're liking what you see over there! Clerical note: I'm going to switch to the pseudonym system for my little family that I'm using over there, instead of the initials that I (initially, ha) started with here.

So my daughter Sally, has, for quite some time been unswervingly focused on being in "just her legs" when she wears a dress. There may or may not be twisting, kicking tantrums that ensue when I tell her that it's a tights or leggings day (it's always been slightly aggravating for me, because as my dad says, it can be like trying to dress a drill bit).

So the other (leggings-wearing) day, she finally gave some insight into her strong feelings on the subject. She uttered what might possibly be the most innocent and beautifully simple sentence ever: "mommy I don't want to wear leggings because I like when the dress tickles my legs."

Oof. So simple. So sweet. Something so little brings her so much joy. During the spurt of warm weather two weekends ago, she got similarly upset when we said she had to leave her shoes on (we were doing yard work, so the grass was seed-y and wet - I know, I know, we're cruel, thoughtless parents). And then, wait for it, she says - "but I want the grass to tickle my feet. Mommy, take your shoes off so the grass can tickle your feet too."

Always practical (and responsible) aren't I? Leggings when its cold, shoes when its wet. Do we lose that sense of simple joy when we grow up and become responsible adults? Or maybe not...is it really the small things that we look forward to, that drive us? (believe me, the big, responsibility-laden stuff is quite a motivator as well). When I think about the things or moments that bring me actual joy, its everyday happenings, its the times when we remember what tickles our legs and kick and scream to make sure we get to experience it. 

What is it for you?

Cheers to a joyful weekend!

Perhaps.

Over the past few weeks, I have been making a conscious effort to pause and take in the goodness of joyful moments in my life. Maybe it's the perspective that growing older creates, but I've suddenly become extremely aware of how important it is to savor moments of happiness and pleasure so they can serve as fuel for enduring hardships and struggles... Because it's easy to become overwhelmed by stress and sadness or to take moments of joy and success for granted, or worse, to pass through them as if only bracing for the next challenge...

So this weekend, if life feels good, take a moment to pause and soak in the warm fuzzy feeling... Let it ooze out of your face in the form of smiles and laughter. Whether it hits you over lunch with friends, during snuggles on the couch, after a delicious bite or just feeling the warmth of sunny weather on your skin, don't get lost waiting or worrying about the next thing, just pause and let yourself be merry :)

Hump Day Distractions

HAHAHAHA!

A very merry Wednesday to all of you my friends! I'm feeling especially cheery today thanks to some exciting developments here in blog land. First, the infamous Ann Marie Slaughter of recent Why Women Still Can't Have it All fame "favorited" my tweet about THIS post the other night, which means she read it and even better, she liked it! Be still my aspiring writer heart:) And yesterday brought record breaking traffic to SeektobeMerry meaning more people than ever before stopped by the site!! I guess yous just needed to find a little joy. (Big thanks to my fabulous Sis-in-Law for the shout out!) And as if that wasn't enough, I have some very exciting new content news in the works for you... It's all just very merry stuff. Anyways... you're probably all "good for you Mer, get to the distractions," so, without further adieu - here's a whole bunch just for you! Happy Humping:)

* "Don't lick my arm, that's what weird kids do" and other brilliantly illustrated kid quotes from one hip Dad.

* What a brilliant way to test out a new NYC neighborhood before buying

* Bath time for baby sloths. Even more adorable than you're imagining.

* A cat/dog love story.

* Heaven is a salad that actually looks delicious.

* Maybe this time the odds will be ever in her favor!?! (Yaaaaaaaay!)

* And while we're watching trailers, the brilliant Christopher Guest has something for you.

* Another perspective on the women/work/home/balance debate. Why going back to the home kinda rocks...

* Why can't we see ourselves as beautifully as others do? (and THIS brilliant response to the ad)

* In case you are interested in how to create the most realistic T-Rex noises

* Cannot believe I left THIS awesome show off my "What we're watching" post! When a show is on your dvr and the soundtrack is on your iPod, the execs must be doing something right!

* Mmmm boozy summer bike rides (or ditch the food, bring just the vino) (via ExPress-o)

* If I had a dog, I would definitely dress him up.

* I'm very sorry that I pinched you in the nuts.

On finding joy.

Good will triumph over evil. It must.

Yesterday was another weird one. Another strange, sad, scary day. But as we frantically searched for loved ones, obsessively refreshed our browsers and tried to imagine who could be responsible for such a heinous act, I was buoyed by the emergence of this quote all over my Facebook news feed:

Mr. Rogers, always a source of comfort

And then there was this incredible statement from the usually comedic, but in this case quite prolific, Patton Oswalt:

"...I don't know what's going to be revealed to be behind all of this mayhem. One human insect or a poisonous mass of broken sociopaths. But here's what I DO know. If it's one person or a HUNDRED people, that number is not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the population on this planet. You watch the videos of the carnage and there are people running TOWARDS the destruction to help out... This is a giant planet and we're lucky to live on it but there are prices and penalties incurred for the daily miracle of existence. One of them is, every once in awhile, the wiring of a tiny sliver of the species gets snarled and they're pointed towards darkness. But the vast majority stands against that darkness and, like white blood cells attacking a virus, they dilute and weaken and eventually wash away the evil doers and, more importantly, the damage they wreak. This is beyond religion or creed or nation. We would not be here if humanity were inherently evil. We'd have eaten ourselves alive long ago. So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, "The good outnumber you, and we always will."

This is a blog about happiness. About little things in life, be it a tasty recipe, awesome song or a funny picture, that bring us joy, even when we aren't feeling particularly joyous. So in the face of yet another confirmation that no place or thing is ever truly safe, I find joy in the many stories and images of human compassion that have emerged out of yesterday's tragedy in Boston. I don't think we will ever stop all the crazies, the angry or the unwell, but I think we can find comfort in the fact that the good far outnumber them. 

Joy

waka waka

It's Friday!! In honor of the joyous occasion, I leave you with THIS. Have a good one:)