my main positive activities for the past two days have been the following:

going through old clothes that i haven't worn in a long time, deciding what to donate, what to keep... i've gotten through most of my clothes & have a whole wardrobe i'm sending to my sister-in-law's house for her to pick through b/c she just lost a lot of weight & needs new stuff... going thru the stuff, i recognized SO many items i purchased when i was manic... and i'm glad to be rid of the overencumberance of having more stuff than i need, plus it feels good to be donating the rest to charity for others... i also snagged a couple items of clothing to give to a coworker... she's been having a rough time & her favorite color is red... so i know she'll be tickled & it will make her day when i show up with a barely ever touched red sweater & a red tank top

side note: it feels good to focus on things outside our own heads for a while... reaching out to others to help them with things (no matter how small), seems to help when i'm down, or when i'm just too wrapped up in my own thoughts for my own good...

i also spent both yesterday & today with my mom (she was helping me go through all these things... i'm packing to move to a much smaller place)... and my mom is basically my best friend.. then today, for the first time in six months, i got to visit with my dad & it went so incredibly well... we patched up some things & basically decided to leave the past where it is & move forward from today... reconnecting with him after having been basically out of touch for a couple years really did my soul a lot of good...

i also meant to mention in my last post... i know it's silly, but i LOVE kung fu panda... i think po is generally hilarious... and there's a cartoon that comes on every night called "kung fu panda: legends of awesomeness" that i dvr... so when i'm "just not quite right" i can watch episodes & just laugh myself silly til i'm (hopefully) feeling better

speaking of which, a lot of really great new sitcoms have come out this season.. i haven't had any regular doses of flat out funny stuff to watch in years... basically since "friends" ended... this year a bunch of new shows have come out that strike me right in the funny bone, so to speak... so i also dvr those & watch them several at a time to keep my mood lifted...

another thing that helps me... every so often, i catch up on this amazing blog at www.kindnessgirl.com that is written by a woman whose mission in life is to help people see that "kindness changes everything"... there is so much love and inspiration in that blog (and often gorgeous pictures too), that it's hard to visit it, read and not have had your spirits lifted

ok, i shush myself now LOL sometimes i talk too much... don't want to irritate anyone

i hope some of my suggestions are helpful to some of you passing by this thread