Happy Things!

I thought today might be a good day to focus on the good. Because there IS always good and lots of it when we take time to notice it :) This week was back to work after some time off and it was an especially crappy week at work which I won't focus on here, but I found that despite that, I was able to not let it get to me so much. I basically shifted my mind set to "this is my job, I can only do what I can do, I can't make everyone happy, my focus is going to be on taking care of the patients." And I've found that when I make my focus on the patients alone rather than the politics of the job, work becomes much much more rewarding. Not always easy, but good to remind myself of that!

Today is my day completely off of work with no other obligations!! And it's quite the cozy day :) It's my perfect idea of a day off actually. I woke up at noon to thunder and wind and rain (my favorite kind of weather) and we're forecasted to have this kind of weather for the next 24 hours thanks to Patricia. Though of course, I'd happily give up this day to take away the destruction caused by Patricia :( There's something that I find so enthralling and electrifying about the wonder and power of a hurricane that I can't even put into words...the weather event itself is awe inspiring...but the destruction caused by them is so awful and heartbreaking :( Today though, for me personally, I'm just getting the remnants...and that is thunderstorms and gusty winds and a dark room with a cozy blanket and books and horror movies and coffee :) It's really a perfect Sunday and just what I needed.

My dad had his doctor appointment with his primary care doctor yesterday and felt discouraged because he was having a bad day. No bad news, per say, just not a good day. And then we had a nightmare at the pharmacy which still hasn't resolved itself. So after his appointment, I gave him a little gift that had just happen to arrive in the mail that morning:

It put the BIGGEST smile on his face and he laughed out loud like I haven't heard him do in months. So worth it just for that moment, but I think this will help him even more than just that moment. He asked me to put it on him right away and said it will be his good luck charm. And of course, he's showing it off to everyone he sees now and he said he can't wait to show it to his oncologist tomorrow :p I got this from an amazing Etsy seller. Her shop is Stamping Cancer Out. She is SUCH a sweetheart. I've gotten the sweetest messages from her, she sent the sweetest thank you card with the necklace and her shop is really amazing. I think her shop will become a favorite throughout this process.

Other things I've found on Etsy lately that I've really loved:

I am obsessed with these Day of the Dead poppets that Lisa Snellings Clark has created!! I just need a pay raise :p It's Day of the Dead and Poppets. Two of my favorite things.

This woman's sculptures are absolutely incredible! They truly take my breath away. She doesn't sell the sculptures on her Etsy site, but she sells prints of them and I want them all :p I would love to own one of these sculptures though or at the least visit a gallery of them some day.

I love this woman's art so much. Love the native american influence and color choices she uses as well as her aesthetic!

The fabric that this woman sells in her shop makes me wish that I knew how to sew or at the very least had a reason to do something with fabric :p I seriously love her designs SO MUCH. Anyone have any ideas on a project I could do with fabric? lol. I desperately want a reason to own some of this!

Finally, this is an Etsy seller that I've become friends with over the years and she's amazing! Her name's Hollie and her collages are incredible and I really love her new work. She does most of her collages on old book covers and you'll often see things like old library cards integrated into her work. And she has really awesome taste in music :)

Speaking of music, this is such an exciting time for music right now!!! Thursday night was the worst night of the week at work and when I got in my car to leave, my phone informed me that the new Joanna Newsom album had been released a few hours early so I got to listen to it on my commute home :D This was in my top 3 most anticipated albums of the year!! And it didn't disappoint at all. God, this album is so damn good. There are certain moments on this album that really shine and literally take your breath away. Like "Divers", which is also the title of the album. I could listen to that song over and over again. This may not be the most consistently amazing album she's released from beginning to end, but the moments that shine are amazing and the album as a whole is still solid as a rock.

Ana posted a link to this interview with Chvrches front woman, Lauren Mayberry which I hadn't read yet and it's such a good interview. Every Open Eye was one of my other top 3 most anticipated albums of the year and it too did not disappoint!! I love their confidence, I love Lauren so much, and last week she performed I Need My Girl with The National and it was amazing!! I need more moments like this to happen please when my favorite bands come together and do amazing things thanks. Have a look:

And finally, my absolute MOST anticipated album of the year is supposed to drop this week!!!! And that would be Grimes' new album! I have literally been waiting for this album for 2 years now. And I have been so inpatient since May when Claire Boucher (aka Grimes) announced that it would come out some time in October. She performed her first show last night and I obsessively stalked YouTube and Instagram looking for videos of new songs to be posted and was rewarded with about 4, 8 second clips of new material :p And the sound quality was horrible so I have no idea still what the album will sound like but I'm really excited! She's another awesome musician and genuinely awesome person.

Now if I could just get back to reading again....going to TRY to do some of that today...I have so many awesome books here waiting to be read too! We'll see what sticks!