Tag: hope

Happiness, Mindfulness, Self Love

Five ways to celebrate Easter in quarantine

Amanda

Anyone who knows me knows how much I LOVE holidays. I look froward to just about every one for its own reason. Well, Halloween not so much because I’m a fraidy-cat, but I do my best.

I won’t be gathering with my family to celebrate Easter due to the quarantine, so I know first-hand how hard it is to look forward to the holiday. However, I’ve found ways to include some of my family’s Easter traditions at my home to help keep my spirits up. Here are five ways to lift your Easter spirit:

1. Decorate

By far, the quickest and easiest way to get me into the spirit for any holiday is by decorating, and my favorite Easter decoration is the Easter Tree. I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve had several decorated Easter trees, in addition to my other decor, scattered around my house for nearly three weeks now.

Growing up, my family and I would find a bare tree limb (no more than three feet long), stick it base-first into a 5-gallon bucket, and decorate it with ornaments, ribbon, or whatever we had available. Now, the creative possibilities are endless! Check out these 25 DIY Easter Tree Ideas from Country Living and you’ll see what I mean.

Don’t be afraid to do a simple Google search to find hundreds, if not thousands, of other creative and homemade decor ideas, too!

2. Color Easter eggs

Coloring Easter eggs has always been one of my favorite Easter traditions. It taught me a lot about the beauty of patience; I still struggle waiting for the eggs to sit in the color cups long enough to embody that rich color. It’s a fun activity at any age and offers a creative outlet which can be especially helpful in isolation.

Egg dying kits are typically available at your local grocery store, but if you can’t or weren’t able to pick up a kit, McCormick has a great web page dedicated to all things Easter egg. You could also use markers, crayons, or paper to create your egg-cellent masterpieces.

3. Dress up

Just because you don’t have anywhere to go, doesn’t mean you can’t dress in your Sunday best, right? Pick something out of your closet that makes you feel great, and wear it around the house. Your mood will improve and you’ll feel more confident; who doesn’t want more of that in their life? Take it up a notch and do your hair and makeup too. Show yourself a little self love and pamper yourself a bit; you deserve it! In fact, have the whole family get dressed up and have an Easter parade through your living room!

4. Watch an Easter movie

Yes, an Easter movie. Christmas movies, and even Halloween movies outnumber Easter movies by far, but there are still a few that are sure to please. My personal favorites are The Easter Bunny is Coming to Town (1977) and Here Comes Peter Cottontail (1971) (I’m a sucker for family-friendly movies in this style), but if you’re looking for something a bit more modern or religious, check out Oprah’s 25 Best Easter Movies to Keep the Entire Family Entertained for inspiration.

“The Easter Bunny is Coming to Town,” 1977
“Here Comes Peter Cottontail,” 1971

5. Have family dinner, virtually

Technology has gifted us with more digital avenues to connect with people than ever before. Skype, FaceTime, Google Hangout, Facebook Live, and House Party, and Zoom are just a few video platforms available for free. Find a platform that works for your family and friends (make sure you all have an account if it is needed), set a time, and meet up for dinner! Chat, laugh, and play games, just like you would in person.

Despite the quarantine, social distancing, and overall trauma the world is currently facing, we still have much to be grateful for. After you decorate, color eggs, or watch an Easter movie, I hope you find time to meditate on this holiday, and find gratitude in whatever circumstance you might be facing. For me, Easter celebrates the resurrection of Christ, the importance of family, and the welcoming of bright colors and warmer weather. Especially now, I also feel that Easter represents positivity, change, and strength for the months ahead.

How will you be celebrating this year?

Happy Easter, my friends šŸ°

Gratitude, Mindfulness

Why I’m thankful for the chicken and her egg

Amanda

The shared family barn is also home to a dozen or so fretful laying hens and a vocal rooster. They are free-range, so they confidently come and go wherever they please, including Gordon’s stall.

Usually, I’m annoyed when I find chickens in or around Gordon’s stall. They somehow always find themselves underfoot, and find really inconvenient places to defecate. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has slipped or has deep-cleaned water buckets because of something similar.

But today, as I chased a hen out of Gordon’s stall, I noticed that she left a different kind of gift.

Pardon the terrible barn lighting, but it was too good not to share!

Nestled in the corner of Gordon’s stall, on a thick bed of wood shavings, sat a smooth, perfect, egg. I picked up the egg and studied it; I was a bit in shock and awe. This hen was brave enough to lay an egg in a stall shared with an animal 1,000 times its size, and I was fortunate enough to find the egg before it was destroyed. As silly as it sounds, I felt like I needed to take a moment to acknowledge and thank the hen for this small but significant offering. I felt that this small gift, even if given unknowingly, was a peace offering, peace between my sometimes trying relationship with the chickens, but also peace in my own mind that everything is going to be fine. I will get through the unknown the world is facing.

And it all started with an egg.

Welcome

Let me introduce myself

Amanda

Hi, all! I’m Amanda. Iā€™m a marketer/designer by trade, and was born, raised, and currently reside in Central New York. I consider myself to be a creative problem-solver, animal lover, and slight perfectionist. My favorite pastimes are traveling, drinking coffee, solving puzzles, eating pizza, and snuggling my old horse and recently rescued pup.

I traveled to Ireland in the fall of 2019 and met these guys on the Cliffs of Moher.

I’m regularly inspired by both the simplicity and complexity of nature, life, and love. I try to confidently live each day with gratitude, grace, and purpose because I know how blessed I am.

I have a family and friends who love me, I’ve traveled to places that some will never have the opportunity to visit, I studied fields that fascinate me at my dream colleges (proud Cazenovia College and Marist College alumna right here!), and landed a perfect job just six months after completing my undergraduate studies.

I was hired as part of the marketing team for a not-for-profit whose mission was to support a local university and it’s students. From the start, I loved the company and its purpose; I felt the job was made for me. I loved the benefits, the flexibility, the people, and my team. I loved that it wasn’t far from my family or my horse. I loved that I didn’t have to sacrifice who I was or what I enjoyed in order to be successful.

And then COVID-19 hit.

Within a week of the virus penetrating the United States, I found myself, along with thousands of others across the country, laid off of work.

In the blink of an eye I felt completely disconnected from the campus and the company I adored. To say that I was overwhelmed is an understatement. I had just recently purchased a house and adopted my pup, how was I to get by without my paycheck? And since we’ve been asked to practice social distancing, what was I going to do with all of that time stuck in isolation?

Despite my fears, I recognized and understood that, although I didn’t have any control over this unanticipated, monumental, life change, I still had control over my mindset. I wasn’t given a return-to-work date, but my lay-off is temporary and I am thankful to be able to collect unemployment in the meantime. I also feel that, whether it is fate, my subconscious, or the powers that be, I am being asked to slow down, be mindful, and to give myself some breathing space.

So here I am, starting a blog, wanting to share my journey with you. I hope to learn a lot, grow a lot, and write a lot, and I hope you’ll come along for the ride.