Half Full
You know the old glass-half-empty or half-full analogy? I am beginning to think that this week is a test in my attitude with how I view Life, and I will not give in to seeing things as half empty.
Yesterday morning, I get up early to take Matthew to work.
Half empty: We only have one car.
Half full: My mom is graciously loaning us her spare car while we get settled here until we can afford one (ideally TWO) on our own.
My darling woke up me at 5am, thinking somehow that it was 7am.
Half empty: Must. sleep. more.
Half full: I have the whole day ahead of me!
Upon dropping him off at the office, I backed up into a fire hydrant. Huge crushing sound. Dented bumper.
Half empty: Crap. I dented my mom’s car.
Half full: Thank goodness it was only the bumper and a fire hydrant and not a small child.
To console my shaky self, I went to Starbucks for breakfast: oatmeal and a very large cup of coffee.
Photo courtesy of FitSugar.
Then I went to Target and gave myself full permission to stay there all day long if I wanted. Not driving was the goal. Eventually though, I had to leave and managed to make it home without hitting anything.
Spaghetti squash with leftover tomato sauce, chicken sausage, and spinach
Did some work unpacking boxes and called it quitting time when my stomach started growling for a snack:
This Bora Bora flavor was very sweet! I know it says pomegranate, but I almost tasted a blueberry flavor.
Dinner was some lean ground beef (organic, grass-fed…truly delicious) on a sandwich thin, spread with a Laughing Cow wedge. It was a great combination! I ended up giving half of my meat to Matthew, because he was starving and I really just wanted the bread + cheese 
I finally got to try the Trader Joe’s frozen sweet potato fries.
Half empty: Not as fresh tasting as homemade fries.
Half full: Crispy! Easy and fast to prepare.
Dessert was necessary last night. Matthew pulled out a store-bought Christmas cake from England, and we each had a slice.
Then I spent a good part of the evening looking online for a replacement scale. Oh, did I not mention the leaky faucet in the bathroom, which damaged our fancy pants scale that we got as a wedding present?
Man, I had a history with that scale. It’s sad to think that I could mourn the loss of something that has toyed with my emotions so much, but I really loved it. It could measure anything you wanted it to: body fat, muscle mass, water weight, BMR…I am going to miss it.
Half empty: Leaky faucet. Can no longer obsessively weigh myself.
Half full: Can no longer obsessively weigh myself
Do you make efforts to see the glass half-full?
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Half Empty: My day would put up a good fight against yours for the awful crown.
Half Full: WE CAN COMMISERATE TOGETHER!!! Love!!!!
haha love this! DEF make an effort for the glass to be half full..it really helps! sounds like your day was more of the glass full! love that burger-sounds great!
Loved this post Lara. Way to see the good in everything…and if you can’t see the good, Target always makes everything better, right?
Spaghetti squash dish sounds right up my alley, and you’re right, homemade sweet tater fries are betta.
be free from the scale..that’s FULL
Great post! Very interesting how you laid it out side by side, half-full and half-empty. I usually start to see things half-empty, but have to catch myself and then turn around to view it as half-full. Sometimes, I’ve got to force myself, but it always pays to think positive.
I really think that this is an amazing post and I totally believe that I need to start focusing on my glass being half full instead of half empty!! I really appreciate you sharing about the ups and downs of your day!!
What an adventure you and Hubby have been through since moving over Lara!! How is Matthew enjoying his job? I hope that is going well and he is settling in with his new coworkers!
Keep goin’ girl…you’ll get settled soon!! You two just moved abroad, it’s going to take some time
Thanks for the well wishes – and congrats on your pregnancy! I wish you well!
My job? Well, its much the same as it was in the UK, things are going well and the people are great! It’s keeping me too busy though!
Some days are easier than others to view the positive, but its great that you are making the effort
Trust me… this whole past weekend seemed like “my glass has turned into the Sahara desert” type of thing… Anyways, I’ve just discovered spaghetti squash. So far the only way I eat it is with Marinara sauce, have you managed to try it with something other than a past-esque way?
A very uplifting entry, I must say. My husband taught me to always see the glass as half full because well, things can always get from bad to worse. You’re doing a great job!
Love this post!! Glad you are looking at a lot of things positively girl! I try to look at everything as half full, but I need to work harder at it!
Loved this post! I tend to look at everything in a half-full mindset, it makes life so much better when I do. Glad you are being positive!
I’ve always been a glass half full type of person – unlike my husband. He’s the most negative person I know. It’s funny when we go out with friends because he’ll go off on some negative tangent and I’ll be right there saying all the positives about the situation. All our friends think the constant banter is funny. I guess it kind of is…
Sorry about the fire hydrant and the scale. I’m glad you’re keeping up a good attitude though!
Man, I hate auto accidents, even minor ones. Last November (2008) I had a fender-bender in a parking lot, and refused to drive for the rest of the year. Then on Christmas Eve the black ice and a tree worked together to total our car, and I wouldn’t even get in a car driven by someone /else/ until February! For a few weeks I was even convinced the city bus would slide off the road! When we finally replaced the car in August, I drove 10mph under the speed limit until October. But this one has survived until mid-January without incident, so I’m slowly starting to regain confidence.
Great post and reminder to look on the bright side
I definitely make an effort to be a glass half full person. I also work on being less judgmental. I’ve starting forcing myself to stop the negative thoughts and counter them with positive ones. Slowly but surely I think it’s working!
Great job on looking at the positive side of things. I try to do that sometimes but it doesn’t always work. Gotta keep trying, though!!
Sorry about the loss of your scale, but maybe that’s a good sign? (glass half full here). Your scale reminds me of a joke we have in the office. A few guys here want to lose weight, but one of them doesn’t think that a competition based on % weight lost is fair because it doesn’t take into consideration the weight of your bones!! We keep making fun of him for this, although one of the guys said his scale weighs bones. He may have to bring it in
Thank you for the reminder – I need to try to see the glass half full more!
Good for you for taking the time to see the half full glass!
Aw Lara – sorry about the car!! But like you said – it wasn’t a child!
My glass is always half full, my husband’s is always half empty – yet together it works out okay! I have always been a positive person by nature though.
Here’s to a better day!
I’m definitely a negative person who tries hard to be positive. I don’t know which side wins more.
I love this post- you always come up with really great ideas like this, Thinny!
I wonder if the defunct scale is a sign. Truth is, we ALWAYS know where we are on the scale (sorry) of things- if we are ‘up’ or ‘down’. And if we are up or down by a minuscule amount, then it shouldn’t matter and yet those are the times that the scale can ruin our day. If we KNOW we’ve gained or KNOW we’ve lost- we don’t really need to step on the scale, do we? Oh well, you’re at Target buying a new scale now anyway, so this is just babble for babbling’s sake
I was always a half-empty girl (Derek used to call me Morrissey) and Derek was half-full (so I’d call him Mary Friggin Poppins). But I think that through osmosis I’ve become more positive over the years. Not that I don’t have my doom & gloom days, but I try to be philosophical about it. I think that self-confidence has a LOT to do with it ironically.
i always try and think about half fullness. although wait i lied a lot of times i do think half empty first and then maybe i pout a little and theeeen think half full. you did an awesome job! half empty? you hit a dog’s toilet bowl. half full? the person who lives there will be happy dogs won’t be peeing there anymore.
easy as pie!
Maybe take that as a sign that you don’t need the scale anymore? My husband trashed my scale about a month ago (I was JOKING when I told him to get rid of it…) and to be honest I AM happier without it. I still struggle from time to time wishing I knew the number, but I take measurments every couple of weeks and I know my body well enough now to gauge where I stand.
Don’t stress too much girlie everything will come together!
I DO make efforts to see the glass half full! Unfortunately it doesn’t come naturally and I have to be like it COULD be worse? How?? Ahhh. That’s it. And then sometimes I find myself embarrassed because my “problems” are just not that bad!!
I hope you get a car (or two!) soon and I hope the dent is inexpensive to fix!! “a small child” hehe
Great post! I really should try to look on the positive side more often.
So sorry about the car, but you are very lucky to have Target around to distract you.
What an awesome post! Its amazing how differently we can view things from a glass hlaf full perspective.
Sorry to hear about the car – but as you said – at least it wasn’t more serious and no-one was injured
And just remember – tomorrow is a new day!
Aww, I’m so sorry about the car accident
I SO know how you feel (having recently backed into another car). There’s no such thing as a small fender bender, because hitting anything with your car is stressful! But I’m a glass half-full person. A fire hydrant is nothin’ And your mom will forgive you 
Awesome post! And something I definitely need to do more often – turn negative thoughts into positive ones. I’m glad you’re okay! Starbucks and Target can fix anything
I did a “good/bad” post today! Definitely tried to see more “goods” than “bads”. So sorry about your mom’s car. At least it was minor, but I understand, because car wrecks shake me up really bad no matter what.
I love this post because it was so easy to relate to! so often you can find yourself in the domino effect that is negative energy, glass-half empty. The more we can focus and chanel the positive, half-full, attitude the better !
So sorry to hear about that car though, you are right, it could be wayyy worse and its only a dent!
No I don’t know of ANY stores that sell heart thrives! :-/ order online only I think!
Great post! It’s so important, yet not always so easy, to look at the half full portion. I especially like your last one
hey girl! so sorry about everything – on the bright side, you are back home!
Cute post. YES, I try to look at life as a glass half-FULL. Sorry about the car – oops! I like Starbucks oatmeal. Of course it isn’t as good as stovetop oats, but not bad in a hurry or on a vacation. I could live in Target, yeah…think so ; )
Funny cause Deb is so right about the scale. We already know where we are.. (how those Biggest Losers DON’T know how big they are? Idk..) but even 3-5 pounds we’re able to tell, like THAT. Boo.
Looove this post. I think I’m a half full kind of girl, but then again some people think I’m super negative. OH well!
Sorry to hear about the fire hydrant and your Mom’s car!
I’m a half-full type person, it just takes me a bit longer to get there. I tend to half-empty for a tiny bit, then change it around and make it into a positive.
such a good reminder that things can always be seen from different perspectives, as long as you are willing to go there!
i have a deep faith that things always work out as they should – just hold on, know that eventually you will be settled and just enjoy the ride
obviously, i am a half-full kinda gal!
Great post.. it is so true that in hard times we tend to look at things with the glass half full mentality . Thanks for the reminder that in every situation there is always something positive.
what a creative post! loved it. I def try tosee the glass half fun more often than not Somteimes it can be hard if things arent going your way but I just think how many people int he world have it much worse.
Lara, just saw your tweet for Haiti – fabulous! I have to say I am physically drooling over the Sainsbury’s Christmas cake….wow, and back home it’s a winter wonderland so perfect place for tea & cake – check this out for an amazing pic of the UK from space:
http://deadlinescotland.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/02-uk-snow-cover-satellite-pic1.jpg
I’m sorry about the car bumper!!
Positivity is the answer to life! Yes, I do make efforts to see things as “half full” as much as possible! For example, I am super bored right now, but I know in a couple hours I’ll be out with Nick and his family and be NOT bored! Very exciting.
Oh, and I LOVE Starbucks’ oatmeal, they did it right!
I understand the scale addiction… when it’s there it starts to control your life and I’m really scared to let go of it. Maybe some day… but until then I’m going to hope that my faucet doesn’t start leaking
Yummy I love Christmas cake! I just found your blog from the lovely Debs page, your food looks so delish and wow you look amazing! x x