Does this dog make my butt look smaller?

If' you've been hanging around here much, you probably know how much I like exercise.  Like...
Not.  At.  All.

(this is obviously not an exercise picture)

I've had a time-and-a-half the past year with fibromyalgia, and exercise has ranked right up there on my list of things I'm dying to do right along with:
 * gouge my eyeballs out
 * pick up a spider without at least 3 wadded-up paper towels, and
 * dilate past 3 centimeters without an epidural.
Seriously.  I am that averse.

Unfortunately, I'm now at the age where my skinny-girl jeans (not to be confused with "skinny jeans," the cut) will not fit beauteously unless I make sure I'm not cheating on my Weight Watchers points and yes, exercise is helpful, too.

I want more energy.  My kids range in age from 4-14, and they are a million miles an hour.  My soul is only really energized when I'm "creating" and dreaming and being engaged.  And being exhausted like I have been is way-stifling.  It is totally cramping my style.

I hear exercise is energizing.  This knowledge has been around since the dawn of time, probably, but I've been ignoring it.

So I'm getting a toe in the water, thanks to our 'doodle.  I'm now dog walking.

I swear this dog is good for my figure.  He needs to go walking every day, so we go all over the place. Up to this point I've had a tiny dog whose exercise needs - I have maintained - are fully satisfied by running circles around the dining room table from time to time.   

But a 'doodle must walk. Therefore I walk.  And I don't even hate it! (I guess all the experts are right about the positive effects of exercise... who knew?)

We've been chatting a lot about happiness, and today I want to shift gears only a little, to encourage you to take good care of yourself.  (And it's not selfish.  So don't even start....)  

Most of the friends I have are not wrestling with how to do good for others or how to be generous or how to be selfless.  Maybe I just have a weirdly wonderful group of friends?  But seriously - you do a lot.  You give a lot.  And that's good.  It's what really blesses us inside our hearts the most, right? 

There is something else I know about you, though... 

If there is something that's allowed to fall through the cracks in your life, my friend, it's probably you.  And I care about you too much to sit by and say nothing.  

You have your own set of challenges that tug at your energy and your spirits.  You hide them away most days, but sometimes you peel back the layers and let a glimpse of the hurting places be seen.  

The only way I know to get past the hard places is to refuse to hide them away.  Instead, I whisper my story, because somewhere in the telling is where I'm most reminded that God is still writing good stuff.  

And there is relief from pain, and there is rest, and there is a way to choose joy.  

A goofy dog has been part of making "taking better care of myself" more fun (and more likely to happen regularly, since I hear that exercising him will make him less likely to destroy my house as well as making my butt smaller).  

Are there things you know you should be doing to take care of yourself, but you put it off, because it's not super-fun or there are so many other people who need your time and energy?  

Today, I want you to know something:  You are worth taking good care of, too.  You are worth treating gently.  You are worth the gym membership or the long walk, the time curled up with a good book, or the new journal to write down your "best thing of the day." You are worth the evening out with your husband or the morning laughing with a friend over coffee.  You are worth the nap, girlfriend.  You are worth pushing for answers to why you don't feel well.  You are worth that college course you keep toying with in your mind or that photography class you think would be great "just for fun." 

Not to get all sappy here, but...

You are precious.  And loved.  

3 Places to Invest in Your Happiness Today

There are so many to-do lists, appointments, errands, chores, blah blah blah... all this stuff that we "must" do, so we run around frazzled and disconnected and irritable (or is it just me?) and miss some really easy ways to have a more joyful day.  

Here are 3 ways to increase your happiness today:

Invest in friendship.  

Think of one person you'd love to know better, and invite her to get together for coffee or lunch.  Stop saying things like, "We should get together sometime," because it probably won't happen (and nobody really believes you when you say that anyway, right?).  Grab the calendar and mark down a date.  Get it planned.  You'll feel really energized today and on the day you hang out with your friend. 

Have an old friend you think of but keep not-getting-in-touch-with?  Send an email, or make a phone call.  Or get really old-school and send a letter you wrote by hand.  Or (wait for it) stop by to say hello in person.  One of my best friends from high school and I don't see each other as often as we'd like to, because of kids and life keeping us so busy, but we call each other whenever "California Love" is on the radio, because we remember driving around for hours in 1996 in my old Nissan Pulsar with that playing on repeat in the CD player that was velcroed to my dash.  

Do you have some inside jokes with a good friend?  Text a photo that will make her laugh when you see something only the two of you will appreciate.  Pick up that silly little item that will make her laugh.  One of my friends gave me a "Goats in Trees" calendar at Christmas, so every day I smile at a goat and feel loved by my friend for remembering something silly about me. A new friend at church recalled my love of all things peacock-feather and suprised me after a service one Sunday with a purple satin pen that has a humongous (like, humongous) peacock feather sticking up at the top.  These ladies invested in me, and I remember them every day when I'm surrounded by goats and peacock feathers, and I bet they had some sparkle going on when they were choosing these fun gifts, too.

Invest in strangers. 

There's something so unexpected about a stranger extending kindness, that it's really so invigorating!  

Give a sincere compliment.  Women are so often really catty.  You know it's true, ok?  Next time you see someone with a great haircut, let her know you love it!  (Please do this in a sincere and un-creepy way.  And I recommend complimenting someone of your same gender, lest you be misunderstood as trying to put a move on someone.)

Offer someone you don't know to go ahead of you in a line.  Are you still mulling over whether to get the skinny latte or the 2% milk?  Just say, "You can go right ahead.  I'm still thinking," to the couple behind you.  

Tuesday an older gentleman at the grocery store checkout said to me, "You only have two items.  Why don't you go in front of me?"  I declined at first, but he insisted.  And it was a really big treat, because I was slightly panic-stricken about the gallon of ice cream that was probably starting to melt in my trunk. (I didn't plan my errands well, apparently.)  His kindness to me probably made him feel good, and it was a little sparkle in my morning. 

Invest in you. 

Wake up a little early to read something inspiring. 

Go on a walk outside. 

Choose the sparkly one.

Take more slow, deep breaths.

Eat it even though it's fattening. 

Don't eat it, because it's fattening.

Stop cheating on your Weight Watchers points. You will never eyeball 2 tablespoons of peanut butter properly.
Try that nail color you secretly love but wonder if you're too old to wear.
Stop feeling guilty for not loving to climb through the playground equipment at the park with your kids.
Pray.

Let your teenager take you on a four-wheeler ride, even though you scored a literal "0" in "excitement" on some type of personality profile your mother had to do on you for grad school.

Remind yourself of all the times God has been really good to you.

Allow "it makes me smile" to be a legitimate reason for choosing household decor.  Even the yellow couch.

Keep little notes and mementos in a "special things box." 

Try that project you've been wanting to tackle.

Get the goldendoodle.  

(These are examples from my personal list... feel free to adapt them.)

(a few photos of my sparkle-makers)