(note: this post is referring to trivial matters, not serious trials)

It’s totally normal to have a bad day every once in awhile. Life isn’t perfect. People aren’t perfect. There are always ups and downs. What’s important is how you react and deal with those “bad days”. I recently had a bad day… one that ended with a boot on my car and a $115 fine haha. Yes it totally sucked in the moment, but later it really got me thinking about the positive ways I dealt with the day, as well as the things I should’ve done differently. It’s good to be introspective and retrospective, but not so much ineffective to correct your defective, selective, negative perspective. *drops mic*

1. Don’t add fuel to the fire.
It’s only going to make you feel worse if you lose your temper, listen to angry music, or dwell on negative thoughts. Trust me on this. Ever notice how the rage builds the more you think or talk about a problem?

2. Stop complaining.
“If you have a bad day in baseball, and start thinking about it, you will have 10 more.” -Sammy Sosa
So true. It’s the law of attraction baby! What we focus on amplifies. If you are putting out negativity, more negativity is going to come right back to you. So stop ranting on facebook. Dumping negative energy into the world is a lose lose situation. If there is a problem that can be fixed, then by all means, fix the problem and move on!

3. Perspective.
Think about your problem in terms of time and relativity.
My mom taught me to ask myself, “is this going to matter in 50 years? 5 years? 5 days?” The answer 97% of the time is, probably not.
Think of others in the world who have it much worse. The fact that 1 billion CHILDREN are living in poverty should put things into perspective. Write down or say out loud what you are grateful for. List as many as you can. Once again, we want to shift our focus to the positive in life.

4.  Laugh.
Laughter is the best medicine. For many years my philosophy has been “you just gotta laugh about it”. Because sometimes when you are in a crappy situation, laughing is all you can do. Besides, I’d much rather laugh than cry.

5. Do good.
Newsflash: the world doesn’t revolve around you. Get out of your own head. Stop worrying about your problems and instead ask yourself, “what good can I do today?”. It’s amazing how doing a good deed can boost your mood.

Hopefully these tips can help you turn a bad day around. 🙂  Thank you for visiting my blog and for reading this. Peace.

There are about 3.9 million dogs that enter animal shelters in the USA every year. According to ASPCA “Of the dogs entering shelters, approximately 35% are adopted, 31% are euthanized, and 26% of dogs who came in as strays are returned to their owner.”

Adopt, don’t shop! There are a lot of misconceptions about animals in shelters. There’s many pros to adopting from a shelter! You’ll be saving a life. The dog will already have it’s shots and be spayed/neutered. The dog may already be trained. Adoption fees are generally very affordable.

In September 2013 one of the greatest blessings joined our family! Tiffany is a poodle and the sweetest girl ever! We adopted her from a local “no kill” animal shelter. Her original owners abandoned her out on the streets. At some point Animal Control picked her up and took her to the shelter. She was adopted once or twice but the adoptions didn’t work out because they said she was “too needy” (insert eye roll). After she was back in the shelter, they were able to place her in a foster home. I’m so thankful to that foster family for taking care of her until I found her!

I saw Tiff’s picture online and knew I needed to meet her. We called the shelter and made arrangements to see her. It was love at first site! We immediately bonded. I believe that human/animal souls can have a deep connection similar to soul mates or kindred spirits.  Tiffany came into my life when I needed her most. She’s been a guardian angel and best friend to me. In return I hope I’ve helped her live a happy and fun life, full of love and belly rubs.

10 Facts About Tiffany:

  1.  She doesn’t go for “walks”, she struts her stuff like she owns the town.
  2.  Loves snuggles, like seriously LOVES snuggles.
  3.  Enjoys sleeping and snoring loudly.
  4.  She gets intense separation anxiety.
  5.  Loves her big dog brothers and tolerates her cat sister.
  6.  Tiff is very intuitive.
  7.  Adores blankets and pillows.
  8.  She is sweet and loving.
  9.   Pickiest. Eater. Ever.
10.  She loves to play hide and seek.

“A dog will teach you unconditional love.
If you can have that in your life, things won’t be too bad.”
-Robert Wagner