Naps!

Some days just call for a nap! There's little as refreshing for the spirit as a good power nap. I actually know nothing of that glorious 20-30 minute thing most people find so restorative... instead, if I am exhausted enough to give in and lay down, there had better be a good hr MINIMUM for me to sleep or it's just plain torture! That being said, naps are good. Good for us. Good for our kids. Good for our society. I think we'd all be alot happier if the US would adopt the siesta. I mean, honestly.... we are SOOOO close to Mexico here in Texas... I don't know why we don't have them. If half of all printed literature around here - including street signs in some places - are printed in English AND Spanish, then I think adopting siestas a cultural norm is only fair. I'm just sayin'. Naps make me happy. :o)

Dogs At Play

Today's happy thought brought to you courtesy of Georgie Girl & Rikki : Dogs at play! I don't think there's a soul in the world that can't feel happiness when watching dogs play. It's impossible! They get all spun up and run around and play fight... it's greatness! Happy pooches make me happy!

Sales

Today I picked up 7 items at the store for my son for winter. This spree cost me a whopping $30. That's less than $5/item.... for really nice stuff! I honestly could not have gone to Walmart and purchased the number of items I got today for that amount - and all of this clothing was very well made. That makes me HAPPY. Happiness is a bargain! :o)

Jimmy Buffett

As I drove away from a very successful meeting today I turned on the radio. Through my speakers came a melody that has served many times as a pick me up.... not to mention a good partner to a cold adult beverage! It was Margaritaville. Jimmy Buffett makes me happy. It's impossible to not be happy when his tunes are on. They are the soundtrack to a million great times in my life. My husband may not understand it... there's no way to explain it. I was raised on Buffett, but even I probably didn't properly appreciate his music until I went to a concert w/ my parents at 18. It's lifestyle music... and if there was one lifestyle I'd like to choose to live forever it would be the beach bum lifestyle! :o)

Fortune Cookies!

Tonight I got a little lazy... surprise, surprise! I decided that it was an excellent night for sushi since it's Good Friday and I was beat. As I sat at the counter contemplating my selection the guy came over and offered me a sample and also offered a fortune cookie to Mason... and, oh how he lit up with delight when found the message inside. So, today's happy thought: fortune cookies! I mean, really.... who doesn't love them? Who is NOT delighted by a fortune cookie?! Happiness is everywhere, I tell ya!

Surprises!

I met with a friend tonight for dinner. I had totally forgotten that she hadn't been able to give me my birthday present months ago.... so it was a complete surprise tonight when she handed me a card and box! Eeek! I love surprises! It was so exciting to get a gift card for a shoe store I love! And for women... happiness IS a great pair of shoes!

Talavera Flower Pots

I pink puffy heart talavera pots. Look at them. What's not to love? They are colorful. They have personality. It's like a little vacation waiting on your porch each day. All you need to do is put on your beach sounds CD, close your eyes.. and the illusion is complete! Anyway - I bought two of these today from our local Kroger - of all places! After a little research I realized that the pricing really wasn't too bad. I'd like to have more, but I'd like to get the patio finished before I acquire more. I just wanted to make sure that I wouldn't end up kicking myself in a couple of weeks when we are at the point where I am ready to decorate the yard if they were sold out as it doesn't appear to be something they stock regularly...

Barber Poles

One to always look for the silver lining, I am struggling today to find something that makes me happy about getting my son's hair cut. Since it's a FIGHT each time, this is a bit of a stretch.... I will say that the instant it is over I am flooded with happiness b/c it means it will be another month before we go through that again..... that's about the best part!

Perhaps in the spirit of today's activity I should just talk about something else along the same lines: barber shop poles. I am not really sure how they originated (maybe that's something I should look up and upon which I can fill another post), but they are coolest. I think that there is something about them that makes EVERYONE happy. It's a nice bit of nostalgia. It makes me think of the days when there was little more exciting to do - aside perhaps a field trip to the fire house or a trip to the day-old bread store! (The latter was mostly just exciting b/c it was one of the few times my mom might shell out for a fried pie or twinkies or some other virtual delicacy for a child....) It conjures images of red sparkly vinyl chairs & keds & station wagons!

Breakfast....

Does any other meal of the day provide as much happiness as breakfast? Perhaps it's because it's the first meal of the day.... we've been fasting all night & our bodies are just so relieved to have food in it.... perhaps it's because it just ROCKS. I'm not sure why - but it's pretty universally revered! What other meal can get a double booking to cheering crowds? Breakfast for dinner is FUN. Who wants dinner for breakfast?! This morning's happy thought is brought to you by the brilliant inventors of breakfast foods. :o)

Goofing off....

Sometimes you have a truly unexpected opportunity to goof off present itself. That's the best kind of goofing off. I believe it actually renews your spirit. It's good for the soul. That's what I did on Thursday night!

Sleep!

I wonder how many times I will repost of my love of sleep? It definitely makes me HAPPY! Apparently I found sleep more enticing than posting last night.... a small lapse in my new routine! I would haiku about sleep as an apology for it, but after struggling with it for 15 minutes I decided I didn't have it in me tonight. Maybe you'll get lucky on another occassion! :O)

Sewing....

So, today I finally got my sewing machine up and running. I've only had it for .... hmmmm... let's see, 10 or 11 years now! My happy thought for the day is that feeling when the machine starts making it's mad hum as the fabric is pulled away ... and you are off! You are creating something new! Something exciting! And it's waaaay easier than you think. It's a huge feeling of accomplishment to do something you've wanted to do for so long. Today in the battle of me verses machine.... I won! :o)

When It Rains It Pours....

After a HUGE weekend of work I am feeling absolutely beat..... AND BLESSED! I am so wonderfuly blessed for the work that I do... that I have my own business that is successful enough to keep me busy.... so busy, in fact, that I have periods when I vow to have the discipline to purposefully slow it down. When it rains, it pours! I am so, so happy for the clients I have!

Turn That Frown Upside Down!

Today's happiness thought is brought to you by laundry. Like most moms laundry is not my favorite thing to do. It seems a never ending chore, in fact. Laundry waits for no one. It's unforgiving of schedule or circumstance. Time marches on and laundry piles up. It is just the nature of the beast. Why on earth would I find any happiness in that?! Well, I'll tell you. When I was in college I spent a summer abroad in Italy. There we had no modern laundry conveniences. We had to use the scrub board and hang the laundry on the line. I had NO idea how much work that was! WOW. Do we have have it easy!!! And boy - did I ever miss fabric softener! I never really understood what that was all about until I took down underwear from the line that could stand up by iteself! HA!

So today's thought is a reflection of my gratitude toward the inventor of the washer.... Here's my happy laundry haiku!

Laundry is not fun

But a washing machine makes

The chore easy

My Mission.....

The other day I read an entry in a book that stated that people who write a list of things that make them happy actually generate more happiness for themselves and others. I certainly think that happiness is one thing we could all use.... so I decided to start this blog strictly dedicated to happy thoughts! :o) ENJOY & spread the love!