I am not a naturally courageous person. I mean, sure, I’ve done brave things in my life. But in general, I am a person who tries to take the easy way out way more often than I should. For such a long time, I blamed it on the fact that I’ve been put in so many situations where I was “forced” to be brave, so when I had the choice, I wanted it to be easier. Well, you can imagine how well that’s worked out for me. (Read: Not so well.)
I’ve been working quite a bit on growing my courage this past year, and that, more than anything else, is what’s led me to the place I am today. Showing my vulnerability, both online and in person, and doing things that scare the crap out me have given me more opportunity and joy than I ever had doing things the easy way. It’s funny, the easy way is actually much more difficult than being brave…I mean, all that time regretting…ooof, it’s exhausting just thinking about it!
So you can imagine my excitement when I heard the fabulous Andrea Scher, creator of the Mondo Beyondo course and writer at Superhero Life, was putting together an online course focused on growing your courage. The course, called Cultivating Courage, starts on October 8th, and is a self-paced, 30-day program designed to teach the practice of being courageous in your life. I’m feeling a bit like I did before I started the Chookooloonks Path Finder course, which is a combination of terrified and thrilled, and I think that’s a pretty good sign.
If you’d like to join me in this inaugural session, please PLEASE click here. It’s going to be a wonderful time. Let’s be brave together.
Oh, friends. It is Friday, right? To say this week was difficult would be the biggest understatement of the century. So far, although 30 is lovely, it is extremely stressful. My goal for this weekend is to get my head up and stop worrying about things I cannot change. Easier said than done, I know, but I’ve gotta try.
You know what might help? Some fun links from around the web. Yes? Yes!
– Lane is talking Emmy fashion over on her blog. Who was on your best dressed list? I’m always a sucker for Zooey DeChanel, but I was digging Tina Fey too.
– I love this post from Anne the Adventurer about blogging professionally. I think we (bloggers) get caught up in this space and so many of us feel shy about admitting that we want this to be what we do for a living. I admire her courage in putting it all out there. Can’t wait to see what happens next!
– So, you need fonts, eh? Design Love Fest has some great (and FREE) ones for you.
– A device that turns your digital images into real life Polaroids on the spot? People are so smart.
– I was super proud of this story out of Kansas City about a school’s choice for homecoming queen. With all the bad news on this front this week, I was happy to be from a place that is celebrating differences, all without pomp and circumstance. They just did it because it was the right thing to do. Right on, Park Hill South High School! You rock!
– This video about the most passionate drummer in the world had me crying what Lulu calls “happy tears.” When people are this joyful in their lives, it makes me remember all the good in the world.
– Hey, Internet, are you reading my private journal? Because so many of you posted exactly what I needed to read this week. This post from A Cup of Jo was just so spot on for me this week. Part of it includes a poem by Rudyard Kipling, and I wanted to share an excerpt here as well…
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
– I’m so excited for D Moms Magazine! I need my Dallas friends to pick me up a few copies.
Whew, that was a lot of links! Guess the Internet was a pretty inspiring place this week. Which, honestly, I needed. I needed to feel encouragement and read stories of struggle, because that is pushing me forward. Onward, onward.
I’m not posting any Instagram photos this week, since most of them are from Vegas and you’ve already seen them here. Instead I’ll leave you with this video. It snapped me out of a major funk this week. Let’s start this shit up, people.
Hi everyone! I’m posting this from fabulous Las Vegas, where I’m engaging in hilarious antics with four of the most awesome friends a person could ask for. Last night we celebrated the anniversary of my birth and today (after much greasy food consumption) we are headed to the Cirque du Soleil Beatles LOVE show. Did I mention how much I love being here with my four best friends? Oh man, I’m a lucky girl.
Here are some fun links to get you through your weekend:
– If you haven’t entered our awesome giveaway yet, there’s still time! I’m taking comment entries until Sunday at midnight (see post for more details).
– The Cool Mom Picks Pinterest Page is always full of great ideas, but their Halloween page has really stepped it up a notch. I suppose it doesn’t hurt that Halloween is my favorite holiday. Bring on the zombies!
– One piece of advice you wish you’d known in your mid-twenties.
– Design Mom’s annual “What to Wear to School” series has always been incredible. But now that she and her family are living in the French countryside, it’s gotten even better. Here’s what her daughter is wearing to 8th grade. (And yes, I’m coveting the wardrobe of a 13 year old.)
– Ben Folds Five is back! And they made a music video featuring the Fraggles. Best virtual birthday present ever (from a band that has never heard of me…DO IT ANYWAY!)
– I’ve been looking for a way to incorporate my Instagram photos into my home, and these stickies might be the ticket!
– I watched this documentary this weekend, and it was wonderful! I can’t wait to share more.
– Musical swings on the streets of Montreal. Lu would flip if we had anything like this near us. Such beautiful art.
– Have you heard of Anna’s Second Wind? It’s the story of an amazing woman struggling to breath through every day. I have tweeted and Facebooked this, but hadn’t posted it here yet. You should check it out.
Hey, guess what? It’s birthday week here at Crazybananas! This Thursday at approximately 7:03 p.m. I will turn 30 years old. Thirty! THIRTY!!! I know, I should be bumming out and pouting, but I couldn’t be more excited. This week is going to be quite the party here in my teeny corner of the Internet, and I thought a good way to start would be with a little birthday gift guide for the sort of nerdy, yet adorable 30 year old lady in your life. Are you excited yet? Ack, me too!
Hooray, it’s Friday! Today is my niece and nephews’ 12th birthday, so I plan on prank calling them and posting endlessly to their Instagram feeds. That’s what annoying almosty-30-year-old aunts are for, right? We celebrated their birthdays last weekend because we’re all so busy this weekend we knew it wouldn’t work out to get together. We have soccer games and grandparents in town, and they have baseball, football and dance all weekend. (Just writing that makes me want to take a nap.) Regardless, I’m so proud of them and the little almost-teens that they are becoming. I’m a lucky aunt, I do declare.
Here are some fun links to get you through the weekend. I recommend reading with ice cream cake at the ready. Mostly because ice cream cake is awesome.
– Are you as excited for the premiere of The Mindy Project as I am? I watched the pilot on Hulu and immediately feel in love. I read Mindy’s book last year and loved every, single second, but I never realized that while the book was climbing the best seller list and her show was getting picked up, her mom was dying of cancer. This amazing article on Vulture was the first I’d heard of her personal life, and it just made me love her more. And cry a little too. Okay, cry a lot.
– Two of my favorite bloggers, Joanna Goddard of A Cup of Jo and Reagan Baker of Hairdresser on Fire, have teamed up to do a series of cute, little girl hair tutorials. First up, heidi braids!
– Lucy eats lunch at 10:45, so I totally relate to this article on Today.com. What’s with the early lunches, schools? And if you’re going to make the kids each lunch in the middle of the morning, maybe they should be allowed to have a snack during the day. Just a thought.
