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5:00 a.m.

I sit at my kitchen table and I stare out the glass door at the dark cold sky and the rain spattered deck.

Do something, I think because I have a lot to do today and I want to be happy and cheerful.

Mood matters to me. Sun matters to me.

I scan a few pictures of nature and I stop on the rose. Just a single rose takes me everywhere I need to go in a few careful seconds, to my memories of flowers and wearing them in my hair when I was little girl. Next, I find a quote to match the rose, and before long, my morning wakes up into something wonderful.

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I have to face the truth. I don’t always want to get out of bed. I don’t always want to do everything I have to do each day. But I made choices to bring myself to the present moment. To be a wife. A mother. A Public Relations person. An aspiring author. An aerobics instructor. And yes, because of my choices, I try to figure out what I can do to bring my best every day. Even when my best isn’t always that great.

So fake it to make it. Here’s a list of tips that work when I’m worried or feeling blue. There’s one I’ve included that doesn’t really work for me, but it might for you.

 Smile. I try hard some mornings. Especially when my hair is a little crazy because then, I just plain look silly staring at myself in the mirror with this overly exaggerated smile. I’ll have to capture one soon, but for now, here’s a funny photo of a forced smile at the zoo.

Quotes on My Mirrors. I have a favorite one taped to my bathroom mirror by Ray Bradbury. I have post-notes all over my desk, and I also have a really fantastic quote about Soul, Love, Hope, and Dreams on my glass patio door. Words are important to me and I love surrounding myself with them as reminders to stay strong and stay positive.

Music. It is a driving force for emotion. When I’m really feeling down, I love Jason Castro. He has a few great positive songs like “You Are” and “Over the Rainbow.” There’s nothing like a rainbow to cure my mood.

Exercise. I always do some of my best thinking when I’m on a machine at the gym. My dad says it’s because you’re pushing a huge amount of blood straight to the brain. I think it also has to do with flushing out the stress and the worry. I know. I’m weird. I like to sweat, too.

Chill. This one doesn’t work for me, not when I’m all worked up. I’m too wired in a moment to let go. I’m too visual and again, the one word I always use to describe myself is energy. It’s hard to channel it when it’s out of control. I’ve tried. I’ve tried to visualize all sorts of things; but, it could be that I still need a bit of practice on this one.

Sing! I turn up the music in my car and I sing so loud sometimes the windows shake. ;0) Never am I on key by the way, so this one doesn’t always work in the summer…or maybe…hehehe

Love. Hugs work. Being at the bottom of a giant dog pile in my household tends to push out the worry. All I have to do is lay down on the floor in the living room, and the rest takes care of itself. ;0)

Dance. I turn on some great tunes on the TV, pull up some music videos and the kids and I dance. Not only does it help me knock a few rungs of stress off my back, but it’s exercise for the kids and it diverts some of their wild energy. I highly recommend it.

Faith. Whatever yours may be could very well help put you in your happy mood. Mine is in God. Sometimes a really great prayer helps me find my peace. Here’s an example of one I sometimes say at night: “God, I know life could be so much worse, but I’m feeling a little heavy about this … Could you help me? Could you help me find the patience, the understanding, and to guide my thoughts so I can find the right words when I speak?” I feel comfort as I’m praying. And most of all, since I believe in the power of prayer, when I open my eyes, I feel happy and I know, I can do it. No matter what it is.

my sweet Valentine’s card from my son this year.

This is Day One in a Thirty Day Blog Challenge. I promise to do my best!

So here goes! Thirty Random Facts of nonsense about me.

1. I love making outlines and graphic organizers so this is a perfect challenge for me! Thank you Miss Banana Pants. I’m hoping I’ll grow a little with your questions each day.
2. I named my blog Cloud Nine Girl because I’ve been known to be a huge dreamer. Daydreamer, doodler, you name it. My head is in the clouds planning and thinking about all the what-ifs.
3. I am Left-Handed and from what I’ve been told, that means I’m 10% of the backwards population. ;0)
4. Superhero movies are also my favorite. Anytime! Anyplace! Hancock, The Avengers, Iron Man, the Hulk. I think it’s because they end happy. And doing impossible things to help others? I’d love to do that.
5. I grew up in a zoo. Seriously. From the day I turned 13 I started volunteering in a zoo, studying animal behavior, and well, I cleaned up after them too.
6. If I could pick a food today, I’d pick steak. I didn’t learn to like it until I went off to college, but that’s only because I’d never cooked for myself. Carrabba’s has a Steak Marsala that makes my mouth water…like now!
7. I once had my hair cut like a boy. Short. Permed. The reason? I wanted to try out for Little Orphan Annie in the traveling production that came to my hometown. I never made it to try-outs, but I have all sorts of bad pictures to remind myself of that horrible haircut.
8. I absolutely without a doubt disliked the color pink for most of my life. I think my mom and grandma filled my closet with pink clothes. I didn’t want to be a princess then, more like a bull in a china cabinet if you asked me. But I’ve grown UP. Now I have one or two pink shirts in my closet again. Sorry mom for fighting you so hard.
9. I have never been able to get away with a single lie. I think I have at least 10 Jiminy Crickets on each of my shoulders. The few times I tried, I think I wore “I am lying,” all over my face. Yeah. A spanking. Grounded for a week.
10. In the fifth grade I wrote a 5-page apology letter to my BFF for winning an argument over a hamburger. She didn’t want to eat where I did, but she went with me anyway. I felt terrible, but she still loves me.
11. I am a living and breathing Tasmanian Devil. A room could fall apart the second I walk through the front door. My poor roommates in college. And organizing the house? Well, let’s just say it’s not the top priority when I get home every day. Sorry honey.
12. I’ve been known to be an exercise junky. So when my son was born, and I went running for the first time after the 6-week all clear, my foot swelled up the size of a watermelon. I’d broke it when pregnant and didn’t know it and right now, I’m not quite brave enough to undergo the two surgeries to fix it.
13. I couldn’t read until I was almost eight. I wrote backwards. I couldn’t make sense of letters. The doctors said it was because of a lazy eye. Who knows. What I do know is this, my first grade teacher saved me. She had the faith and dedication to work with me every day. She changed my life and now I am a reading junky.
14. I am proud to say, I grew up in the Mennonite faith. Not all Mennonites wear black hats and ride on horses or in buggies. ;0)
15. I am better with strangers than the people I know. I don’t like admitting it, but it’s true. I think I’m always so caught up in saying the right thing, thinking it has to be perfect. I know it doesn’t and it’s something I am working on.
16. I love Gerber daisies. Especially a really pretty bundle of mixed colors. The bright red ones are my favorite.
17. I am addicted to HGTV. I’d fall asleep to it every night if I could.
18. I once dropped forty pounds in three months. How did I do it? I used to picture all the things I loved to eat as rotten and full of bugs until I couldn’t stand the smell or sight of them. My coworker thinks I’m weird because I don’t like donuts. I used to, but somehow, I sort of ruined them for myself.
19. Climbing trees is one of my favorite things to do. When I see one, and when I have time, I like to dangle from the branches.
20. I teach Yoga. It’s really fun! I never thought I’d like it because you have to be comfortable with being quiet, and I couldn’t do that for a very long time in my life.
21. I became an aerobics instructor when I was nineteen to master my fear of standing up in the front of a crowd, which relates to the next item on my list.
22. Public speaking is now one of my favorite things to do! I feel so full of life and energy, and I love reaching out to people. I love watching the light bulb go on when others relate to what I’m talking about.
23. I am terrified of roller coasters. So when I turned 21, it was the first thing I Swore I had to do. Go to Worlds of Fun and ride every last roller coaster at least two times.
24. I can’t do a headstand. So now I’ve set a goal for myself. This year, I will build the arm strength I need to finally, meet this challenge.
25. I am not the biggest fan of Barbie Dolls. They serve their purpose. I had quite the collection of them at one point to fit in with my friends, but I LOVE Breyer Horses. I spent every last dollar of my allowance buying those things. I even went to a YMCA camp when I was twelve to learn how to ride and care for horses.
26. I spoke like Shakespeare for an entire summer. I swore, before I went into high school, I had to like the way he wrote. So I read every story I could at the library, preparing myself for my future studies. The Tempest was my favorite back then because it didn’t end in death. At least, not that I can remember. I know. NERD!!
27. I love to fish. The problem? I don’t like taking the fish off the hooks so I have to wear gloves. I think it freaks me out when they wiggle in my hands. I don’t want to hurt them and I once made it worse for a poor fish and he died when I finally got the hook out of his mouth.
28. I love to travel. I’d go back to Scotland and Italy in a heartbeat, though Scotland trumps Italy, because everyone in Scotland kept kissing me on the cheeks. :0)
29. I am plain terrible at Math. Chemistry falls into the same category. I’m such an experiencer and a visual learner, if I can’t see how it fits together in my head, there is no way I can remember how to make a formula work. Now biology? That subject is easy.
30. I am a morning person. I always have been. My best friends used to get so mad at me when I’d sleep over. I wondered why my friends stopped inviting me for short periods of time. It’s because I’d fall asleep like clockwork about—oooh—9:00 p.m.

picture from http://www.personalexcellence.co

This week has been wildly catastrophic to say the least. I woke up Monday morning expecting a little chaos, but I never thought I’d have to stare down the mouth of a volcano and surf the hot lava with fire proof shoes! LOL

I know, a little extreme, but sometimes it really feels extreme. When everything around you sort of blows up and you don’t know where to start, you just have to pick a place and start somewhere.

Like for me. With three days of straight events and lots of organizing, and lots of files that got lost and had to be recreated at the last minute because of the weather, I tackled each item as first come first serve. Whatever was most immediate, had to be done. I checked off the little steps and slowly, each day became less of a volcano and more of a spitting water fountain. So I grabbed an umbrella. I made it work, and with one day left and just a handful of issues still staring at me from my list, I’m finally, almost done. YES.

So when life gets a little heavy, put on your best racing shoes. Tie those laces tight and set your course. Step out there and keep going. The steps will get easier. You’ll see the end eventually even if you don’t feel it in the moment. Just don’t stop.

~Erika

http://www.weirdwarp.com/2010/03/volcanoes-on-earth-and-beyond/