KIRBY vs. MEL

Soooo after the quarter point on our happiness journey I have gone back and read every entry that Kirby and I have made since day 1. I am starting to really notice how incredibly different we are! Me and Kirby's Happiness Projects couldn't be any different really and I think it's such a clear indication of the differences we have, and how together, those differences make our Happiness Blog perfect. We come from two totally different perspectives, with totally different goals, totally different ways of tracking, even the way we blog is opposite.

Although our Happiness Project is a perfect example of how opposites attract (and make awesome roommates) I would like to take a minute to list a few things Kirby and I have in common so that y'all know why we have mad love:

1. Our shared love for "Glee" and knowing that the show wouldn't be the same without Becky the Cheerio
2. Our love for Mexican food (Our first roommate dinner was at Julio's Barrio)
3. Our hate for stuck up biatches (we both know who this is, in particular)
4. Our appreciation for a clean kitchen
5. The things we know are just that way, but were never discussed, like why do I have the left side of the fridge, and she has the right? If individual items linger over to the other side, one of us returns them to their rightful space. The top shelf is for shared items like margarine, salsa and ketchup.
6. Our ability to know exactly when the other doesn't want to be spoken to, for at least an hour
7. Our love for comments about the interesting folk that live in our building
8. Our love for movies....we .....love.....movies.

In compliance with showing proofs of love, here are a few things that I adore about Kirby:

1. How she always keeps a can of Chef Boyardi mini Ravioli in her cupboard for the Sundays that i'm too hungover to move or make myself anything
2. How she hates leftovers, and therefore I usually have an already made meal in the fridge once a week
3. Her love for cheese....we always have cheese (right now? fresh parm and her fav, cheese whiz)
   
4. Her love for breakfast foods
5. When I catch her dancing
6. The way she laughs out loud when something is REALLY funny
7. Her cleaning ethic. This girl puts Danny Tanner to shame (she steam cleans....fact)
8. The fact that she taught me to drive a standard in 2 hours, in the snow
9. Her patience...
10. Her perseverance. This chick is strong :)
    
    
    I'm happy to be on this journey.

About Me and My Happiness Project

Kirby:

The first time I saw the Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin in the bookstore I read a line on the cover about trying to sing in the mornings, and like the skeptic I am, rolled my eyes and put it back.  Several months later I saw it on a bestsellers list and decided to give it a second look. 

I felt I was living a life with a lot of negativity.  I’d had a crappy few years that broke down what I once thought was a strong sense of self.  I finally feel like I’m back at a point where I’m willing to put in the effort to make myself happier.  For a long time I avoided doing things that I thought I should be doing simply because it felt fake.  Trying to be friendly and upbeat or going out of my way to attend a social event when all I felt like doing was crawling into bed and watching a movie felt fake.  I wanted to feel authentic, to do things because I had a genuine desire to do them as opposed to “you know you should”.  I thought that good times and bad times come and go and if I waited it out eventually I’d start to feel good again.  Turns out happiness isn’t like the weather, if you want a change in your life or yourself you better start making changes.  I knew I could do better and the Happiness Project gave me a system for making these changes that was attainable.  As I read through the book I thought, I could do this, I SHOULD do this.  And so I am, or we are.

Melissa and I are embarking on our own Happiness Projects, dedicating a year to living happier lives.  Each month we will add in another category of resolutions to the mix, keeping track of our progress on charts and in this blog.

About Me and my Happiness Project

Melissa:
     Many months ago I was speaking to my lovely roommate, Kirby, trying to convince her of the importance of reading. I had recently read the “Something Blue” and “Something Borrowed” books and just fell in love with being able to get immersed into a story, and something that wasn’t my everyday life. I also found reading a lovely way to help knock myself into slumber, as lying in bed at night allowed my mind to run away with my own insecurities and feelings about the trials and tribulations I had been experiencing. A few short months later I came home from what was a particularly trying day at work, to find Kirby curled up on the couch reading! The next day she was done her book and told me how inspired she was by the author’s story. At the time I was reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat, Pray, Love” but decided to take a hiatus to read what had to be an amazing book to keep Kirby so engaged for 48 hours! As I read Gretchen’s “The Happiness Project” and learned of Kirby’s intentions to do her own Happiness Project I felt like there was no better time to work on myself. In the past 2 years of my life I’ve managed to overcome a crippling breakup, a landlord try to get me fired from my job, a lay off, unemployment, a sprained ankle, fallen friendships, and multiple blows to my ego that left me wondering who I am, what is my purpose, and where do I go from here?



     As I’ve finally started to see that light at the end of the tunnel which began with a new job that gladly took all of my focus, and a commitment to getting back into shape, I was on the path to really knowing me, and loving being in my own skin. While reading “The Happiness Project” I decided that I didn’t just want to be a “new and improved” version of Melissa, I wanted to be the best Melissa possible! The starting point was to list my faults….the one’s I know I have, the one’s other’s have told me I have and the one’s I have, that other people like, but that I don’t think are necessarily the best life choices (no more ‘hand grenades’ at Hudson’s Taphouse for me guys!) At 25 I feel like I have a fairly good idea of where I want to go, and how to get there, I just need a plan. So here I go, dedicating the next 365 days of my life to becoming the best version of myself possible. Why wait until I’m 40 and having a slightly mid-life realization when I can fix things now, and learn to appreciate every day while I have all the independence in the world. A year ago I wanted to get the words “carpe diem” tattooed on my wrist. I want to make that tattoo be a life practice instead of something that I think sounds cool. I want to seize the day. I want to not take things for granted. I want all the people in my life that I love to know I love and appreciate them. And most importantly, I want to be sitting in a rocking chair, on a porch, watching a sunset, in about 60 years and know that I didn’t waste anytime being unhappy. I didn’t waste a single day not loving every breath I took.