If you ever had any doubts about where I got it from…
Mama Everythingtarian to be exact.
And in turn, she most certainly got it from her mama…
…and in turn, passed it onto yours truly + sissies, who are not yet mamas.
Happy Mother’s Day to Mama Everythingtarian, G’ma Everythingtarian (R.I.P. + LOVE YOU!!!) and all you mamas out there! Truly, the world would not function without all of you. Personally, I know I wouldn’t be here today without Mama E’s constant love, unending support, wise words and telling me straight up when I need to just shut the hell up.
And in honor of Mama E., I’ve decided to accept her motherly challenge. On my last post, she challenged me via comment to make every blog post I write for the rest of the month POSITIVE in nature, no matter what. In her words, “The already positive things shall be Barney-fied [as in the purple dinosaur] and the negative things shall be positive-fied.”
Bring it on Mama Everythingtarian.
To kick-off the May of Positivity Challenge (which I am hereby deeming it), I’ve decided to recap my weekend journey to Minnesota by turning 10 “negative” things that happened over the past couple days into glowing, optimistic positives.
So, let’s get to it…
Negative #1: Even though I promised myself to leave my apartment clean before I went to Minnesota, I failed. I left behind gargantuan piles of dirty laundry, mounds of dirty dishes and an apartment in desperate need of a good, thorough scrub down.
Positive #1: Instead of finish my to-do list of chores, I left for Minnesota early and got to spend even more hours with my family + friends.
Negative #2: It rained and drizzled miserably the entire way driving to Minnesota.
Positive #2: The rainy weather allowed for slow, safe driving and provided me the time to read hilarious bumper stickers pasted on the back of cars.
In case you can’t read that, it says,
“If you’re going to ride my a$$, at least pull my hair.” Naughty.
Negative #3: Because of horrendous road construction, it took me 1 1/2 hours to move four miles at one point. Yes, FOUR miles. That in turn made my normal four-hour trip from Madison to Minneapolis six hours. FML.
Positive #3: Driving for six unexpected hours gives you ample time to create an awesome, totally random road trip playlist:
- “Eeenie Meenie” Justin Bieber f/ Sean Kingston
- “Gypsies, Tramps + Thieves” Cher
- “Quit Playing Games With My Heart” Backstreet Boys
- “Flourescent Adolescent” Arctic Monkeys
- “In My Head” Jason Derulo
- “What Have You Done For Me Lately” Janet Jackson
- “We Came to Dance” The Gaslight Anthem
- “High School Musical” High School Musical
- “Ice Cream Paint Job” Dorrough
- “Stay Positive” The Hold Steady
Negative #4: Bad Mexican food. Nuff’ said.
Positive #4: While eating stomach churn-inducing Mexican food, I got to spend two hours catching up with two of my bestest friends in the entire world. Nuff’ said.
Negative #5: Burning hot food + impatient people (ahem, moi?) who aren’t willing to wait for it to cool down before scarfing eating it.
Positive #5: A blister on the roof of your mouth is a good reminder to take it slow when eating, savor every bite and ensure you don’t scald the outer layer of skin when doing so.
Negative #6: Paying for an $18 meal that made you sick + didn’t even taste that good.
Positive #6: I only paid $18 for all of this – including a FREE Coronita!
Negative #7: Beating myself up for eating two bowls of Special K + skim milk for breakfast, chicken fajitas that did NOT taste right for lunch and a Dairy Queen Buster Bar Blizzard (!!!) for dinner. Not exactly the picture of health Holly…
Positive #7: Forget that last negative. I had a frickin’ Dairy Queen Buster Bar Blizzard for dinner. I’m awesome.
Negative #8: Taunting yourself with cruel, fear-inducing thoughts of how painful a 10-mile run is going to be on a Sunday morning.
Positive #8: I get to run 10 miles with Angharad (in which we will get to fully catch-up on each other’s lives) then go out for a kick-arse brunch afterwards!
Negative #9: Coffee + Caribou Coffee Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal 45 minutes before running. Holly, what were you thinking?!?!
Positive #9: Coffee + oatmeal turned out to be FABULOUS running fuel. No cramps. No pain. Only 10-miles at a solid 9:00/mile pace with one of my favoritest people in the world!
Negative #10: I was a horrible blogger this weekend and barely took any pictures of anything.
Positive #10: May is MY month, and I am spending it LIVING! Good times were had with college friends, high school friends, the Everythingtarian family, extended family and blog friends. Pictures are for people who can’t remember, right?
Who is with me on the “May of Positivity Challenge?” Start things off by leaving a comment writing one negative thing that happened over the weekend and turning it into a positive!
{ 44 comments }
love the jam out mix for the car. random songs are the best. a little high school musical, justin bieber, cher? what’s not to love about that. but the crazy traffic? gahhhh. and i totally love that positivity month. great idea!
negative: my college priest had his last service on campus tonight before being transferred to a new location next year. {major sad face!}
positive: his departure brought back a lovely little reunion of past students and current students. after mass there was great talk and giggles shared…and it was truly special to have everyone back together under the same roof once again!
Yesssssss ma’am! I am so in and it is on like Donkey Kong. Any playlist with an HSM song is pure gold in my book. Okay, Negative- long day at work left me kind of crabby. Positive- Long, crabby day made boyfriend with loads of homemade salsa SO much more exciting!
Yayyyy!!!!!!!!!!!! Love turning negatives to positives (wait, does that have something to do with the title? turning Ps into Ns? Should that be switched or am I missing something?) ! Anyway, I LOVE yo mama!!! And you, duhz.
Hmmm, I’m trying to think of a negative from the weekend, but I honestly can’t think of one. It was really fab. Ummmm I missed Friday’s workout, but I made up for it Saturday with 40 mins elliptical +20 mins racquetball with Dirty Martini. Basically, it was just me swinging and missing the ball because I was laughing so hard. At myself.
Here’s to another AWESOME week in May!!! xoxoxoxox
Loooove The Gaslight Anthem! Yay for good music!
Negative: Having to clean my massively messy college apartment after my roomies left for the summer and “forgot” to take care of anything.
Positive: Messy or not, as soon as my stuff is packed, I’m off to Africa for nine weeks!
First of all, now I know where you get your looks from- your mama is GOR-GEOUS! :)
Negative: I was stuck inside all weekend, nose in books, studying for finals…blah.
Positive: Finals = schools almost done, which = ALMOST summer!!!
You ARE awesome! I’m with you on the challenge. I didn’t get nearly as much work done as I planned this weekend, but I got to spend so much time with my family and friends. That is most certainly a positive. Love you Holly!!!
Love the mama E idea and happy to read/see you are up for the challenge lady! One negative thing…I swapped buckwheat flour for spelt in my favorite chocolate mousse pie dessert…wasn’t that great. Positive…the mousse part was TO DIE for.
Love this post! Negative, I didn’t get much reading done for school, Positive, spent tons of time with family, friends and the hubs!
Dude, I loved this post, it made me feel more positive just reading it :)
Negative: I had no electricity from 6AM to 6PM on Saturday, meaning there was nothing on my to do list that I could actually get done.
Positive: I had an excuse to sit by the beach and read stupid books for the ENTIRE DAY! :)
Happy Mama’s day to Mama E! Hope she had a good one. Love her positivity challenge. As they always say- you can’t control everything that happens, but you can control how you react/deal with it! Mmm chips and salsa. Even if the meal was icky…I bet the chips and salsa rocked! Gotta love road delays when you have a long drive. A blizzard for dinner? Theres lots of calcium in blizzards (I’m sure) so…it must be a good meal :) Hope your Monday goes well
Aw, your mom seems awesome! I have a DQ about 1/4 mile from my house…blizzards for dinner are frequent here.
This is such a great little exercise. If we are unable to see the positive in every situation then we just turn out to be cynical and bitter because let’s face it….life can stink at times. But there is always a silver lining…always! :)
So glad you were able to see the light in everything. May is YOUR month girl! :)
Instead of subtracting (a neg only thing) the cost of my 24 ounce Coors Light tall boy from a $5 bill to figure out how much change I was going to get back, I added a neg number instead. And, voila, it came out the same and I felt terrific about it.
OMG, that blizzard looks amazing. Definitely a good decision in my book :-)
negative: i dropped and broke my camera last night
positive: i get to buy a new camera!
Can I just say…DQ Blizzards are my guilty pleasure. No, scratch that…my guilty OBSESSION. In high school, my mom and I had “Blizzard Thursdays,” and every Thursday after school I’d go and get one. Yumm
Sorry about your negative trip :(
I love this post! Turning negatives into positives is such a strong activity – it really changes your whole mind. And your mom is super cute.
(My mom once bought me a shirt that says “I Got It From My Mama.”)
Please tell me you were referencing that song when you said ‘I’m Awesome’. Because that, truly would be AWESOME.
I love your mama. What is it about mamas that make them so wise?! I’ve been trying to frame the negatives more positively, too. Sometimes when I find myself ranting and raving for pages on end in my journal (which I still write in, though not as frequently as I used to) I then write down ONE thing I’m looking forward to the next day. Just one! It helps.
Love it!! Soemtimes turning N’s into P’s can be difficult, but you did it.
Oh, and we don’t have DQ’s anymore. What the heck is that about?! Guess I will have to make it my May Mission to find an acceptable subsitute.
Neg – My husband ditched me on his one day off to go get hammered with his dad (who I refuse to talk to).
Pos – I didn’t have to cook dinner for him!
Neg: instead of doing all the fun and exciting things a sunny sunday should include, i was totally derailed by the “Impeding Monday” stressy blues
Pos: was forced to think about //why// i get the IMSBs and spent goof off relaxing time with my lady.
p.s. you’re the best.
Hahaha, I already love your mother for creating you, but I love her even more for those photos! :P
Turning the negatives into positives is a wonderful idea – something I definitely need to do more often too!
Negative: After spending all day Friday and Saturday moving, my Dad needed me on Sunday to move his furniture.
Positive: Bonding with my dad over fitting couches through door frames and kicking our feet up together after accomplishing it :)
Kick arse is the truth! I was full ALL DAY after that puppy. That is unheard of after a 10 miler…but I suppose my plate did include about a pound of meat so….yeah.
Glorious seeing you and catching up and knowing your life again. See you in three weeks!!!
It looks like you have a lot of incredible women in your family! Glad you had a good mother’s day! I like #7–it cracks me up! I’ll also have to try the Caribou oatmeal! I bet it’s better than Starbucks! Have a great day!
I love this! Yes, I’m in. All positivity from here on out – and I need it!
Friday totally sucked the life out of me, in just about every way. BUT – it was just one day, and Saturday came the next morning just like always. I don’t think there’s anything that homemade biscuits and gravy and a beer/bluegrass festival can’t fix :) And an awesome afternoon nap.
You never cease to make my day. :D And I totally agree with your “mom’s day” thoughts. Moms are awesome. :D
I love the positivity!
Negative: I didn’t study at all over the weekend which means I’m makin up for it today!
Positive: My brain needed the rest and I’m feeling refreshed and refueled and oh-so-ready to take on the upcoming study sessions and exam.
Mama E is a wise lady, be sure to tell her that! I need to take a page from her book every once in awhile, I can get so negative. Especially about long runs! :)
Negative: It’s May, and it’s been cold, rainy and yucky outside. I had a big sweatshirt on all day yesterday, and my feet were cold in flip-flops.
Positive: Low temps mean I can use the oven without worrying about overheating the house! Roasted sweet ‘taters are on tonight’s menu!
Aww I love it! I need more positivity in my life so I’m along for the challenge! :)
singing alone in the car is one of life’s greatest pleasures.
glad you have a nice weekend at home! i’m sad i didn’t get to surprise my momma on mother’s day.
Omg i totally see where you got your Holly wonderfulness from and i LOVE IT!! Thank you for sharing. These pictures are so priceless!!
Lovin’ the attitude an turning negatives around. Well this weekend I wasn’t able to rent a Zip car but ended up going to get Beard Papa’s strawberries ‘n cream filled eclairs with my best friend! :)
N: It was FREEZING at the Farmers Market on Saturday
P: I took the opportunity to eat hot food, like grass-fed beef dumplings! :)
Oh, I also received some wonderful advice from my Mother (they always know what to say) and thought of you and your mom! How fitting for the weekend!
NOW THATS WHAT I’M TALKIN ‘BOUT’!!!!!!!!!!! You have some pretty awesome, supportive and wonderful readers!!! To all of you out there….thanks for listening, reading and supporting my biatch-shes fab!!!!
Loving this positivity, Holly!
i love reading bumper stickers & license plates, if i can’t figure it out i always wanna beep and ask the driver what it’s supposed to mean :)
Omg I love your post. It was amazing.
yay! yay! yay!
Gah! I sware you, me, Kailey, etc etc have THE greatest mamas ever!! I seriously gotta meet you…and mama everythingtarian in the near future. I must!
That bumper sticker is HILAR. I kinda want it but that’d be so outta character for me! hahahah! Whatevs.
Holla to the old backstreet boys shout out! i’m sorry you had to wait in so much traffic/construction, but that DID make for a very amazing music-filled drive, yes?!
You are awesome and you are the picture of health–you live yo’ life and do it RIGHT! I also had mexican this weekend, and have to admit that the chips + salsa (and maybe the marg…) were definitely the best part!
Sorry our gchat sesh didn’t work! But i know we’ll catch up soon, homegirl is officially on summer vacay and heading home wednesday! AND THAT MY FRIEND, IS THE POSITIVE THAT OUTWEIGH ALL NEGATIVES OF THIS PAST WEEK (aka finals studying stresssssssssss) !! LOVE You!
I love your positivity… I’m in for the May Challenge.
Yes, yes, yesss! Your positivity is infectious. I want in.
Negative: I didn’t have any time to relax this weekend
Positive: I got SO caught up on life…grading, cleaning, organizing, groceries, etc. and it felt GREAT to start the week off on an organized foot. :-)
PS. Did you figure out if calcium is a mineral or a vitamin?
LOVED this post, holly :)
let’s see…
negative: i drank friday, saturday, AND sunday (shh, not lots, but prob 2 each day) … this is not good for the clean eating goal…
positive: i spent time with my home-on-leave brother, had some amazing laughs with my girls from school, and re-connected with my stepsister. did i need alcohol for all of this? no. but it was a nice addition to these good times…
i am seriously in love with your outlook on life in this post.. love all the positivity amongst the downer moments. this post is inspiring.. as there is always a good to every bad.
coronita ooo i like that i have only seen corona bottles
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