curious birds: gray skies are gonna clear up

i was in a mood yesterday. it was mainly that hormone-based craze that i get into at least once a month. i get grumpy and moody and short with people. and the most annoying question i get (from chris) is, "are you grumpy for some reason?" i don't know why that bothers me so much. maybe because i can't explain my mood, or maybe because all i really want is for him to know i'm in a bad mood for no reason whatsoever and to take care of me and tell me everything's going to be ok. that's not so much to ask for, is it? a little tlc. instead last night, i sent this email to my sisters. i laugh at it this morning because i'm in a better mood...

"if you break a glass in the bathroom, throw it away. don't leave it on the shelf. if you take a shower, use a bath mat and dry yourself off. don't walk all over the house dripping wet. if i make dinner, even if I'm not home to eat with you, clean up. don't take the time to move all the dishes from the table to the sink and not into the dishwasher. and wipe the table off. bbq sauce is a lot easier to clean wet than it is dry. vent over." ( i feel like this is the part of the post where i need to tell you that chris really does a ton around the house. he just didn't last night.)

i got lucky last night, i happened to have a haircut appointment. happened to. (my hair stylist had just gotten back from maternity leave...yep, it's been a good 25 weeks since i've had my hair cut!) normally on these kinds of days, i try cutting my own bangs, or i color my hair some weird color. i'm an odd duck. apparently making myself look worse makes me feel better. who knew? usually it's these days where i end up calling zoe to see if she has any openings, like, right now, which she never does because she's awesome and books up for weeks ahead of time. so the haircut helped...last night.

but this got me to thinking, what do i do to make myself feel better? zoe can't be there for me all the time (i wish). and i only have so many bangs to cut and so many boxes of hair color to go through. so what else do i do? i have narrowed it down to a few things.

1. shopping
shopping pretty much always make me feel better. the only time it doesn't make me feel better is when it makes me feel worse. you know those days...when nothing fits and everything makes you look worse. most days, though, i can at least find a loosey goosey dress that is cute and comfy. job well done.
2. exercise
a nice long run, some meditative yoga, or a punching bag can always make me feel better. sometimes i need to throw a picture of someone on the punching bag, but that's normal, right?
3. wine
or beer, or a margarita. you get the idea. i'm not talking binge drinking, i'm talking a glass of wine and a good book sort of night.
4. a girly movie
any sappy movie will do. sometimes when i'm in a bad mood for no reason, i just need a reason to cry. i can pop in "p.s. i love you" and i will literally cry for the whole movie. and then for about 45 minutes after it's over. but then i am ok. i cried all the bad away, and it feels great.
5. law & order marathons
i don't know why this makes me feel better, but it does. it's indulgent and lazy, but a few hours of this show makes my mood brighten. plus, you can pretty much watch law & order any time of the day. true story.

these things will almost always make me feel better. i'm pretty easy, it doesn't take much. but if for some reason, they don't work, i can always count on these munchkins.

instant happiness

so today's question for you is, what pulls you out of a rut? what makes your gray skies clear up? i could use a few new ideas that don't involve money, booze or boxed hair dye!

i hope that today's mood is happy!

in the mean time, i will leave you with a song from p.s. i love you that always makes me do a happy dance.

xoxo,

megan bird