10-01-11 I am a very fortunate person in a lot of ways. I understand
what makes me happy and I love making others happy. For this moment,
my happy is creativity. I love using my imagination and trying new
things. It is the sense of adventure that allows me to take chances.
A chance. A moment. These things are some of the ingredients for
living well and being happy.

Here is a secret; if you get that pit in your stomach when you want to
try something new, you are not alone. I feel the same way too.
Anytime I decide that I am going to try something new, I feel this
pit. Fear is something that can be extremely powerful. It is the
main cause of people not living a full life. If you let fear take over
the situation, then you will go no further. Fear can and will paralyze
people from becoming who they wish to become. My husband has this
thing that he tells me all the time (he is great at giving advice but
he very seldom follows it). He will calm me by saying that one of the
only reasons you get those pits in your stomach is because it is so
important to you. Believe me, to try and fail is much better than not
trying at all. Who wants to ask themselves years later, ?what if?? I
don't. So here is my most recent pit: I am terrified that no one will
understand or appreciate why I have this website. It is not so I can
tell people how to live. It is to be joyful of how I live, my
happiness. Yet still I write. I can no longer be afraid because I
have moved past the idea and brought it completely into fruition. So
flop or not, it is all me. Being afraid of doing what you know is
right is also how evil prevails in this world.

Here's some food for thought; if you have an idea, something that you
have been wanting to do for a while and in your way is something (for
example finances), try something different that will get you the same
result. Having a creative side allows you to view life from all
aspects and every corner. You don't have to be rich to be fulfilled.
You don't have to have everything that you ever wanted either. You
just have to use the smarts that your parents gave you. Although I am
not a big fan, I do like one thing that Dr. Phil says to people who
are facing difficult times. He always asks them what they are doing,
then proceeds to ask "How's that workin' for ya?" It seems simple,
yet its simplicity is the brilliance.

Try something new, whatever it is, today. Plan to do something that
you have never done before. Do not be afraid. A life without risk
will not be a satisfying one.

Happy Does It!

08-01-11  Sometimes we tend to have little disagreements with our family, friends and colleagues.  We love them but we are unable to see why they just cannot seem to reason out why you are right and they are not.  Funny huh.  I know that it sounds funny but it is the root of all arguments and disagreements, the inability to see eye-to-eye.  I used to be one that would just keep butting heads until the other head submitted or the argument got stale. I mean, really, if it is worth fighting for...why not?  Therein lies the problem.  "Worth fighting for".  Too many times we fight for no real reason at all.  Peoples' feelings get hurt, bad feelings erupt and you create an uncomfortable situation.  Yes you have created it.  I love my family.  I have argued with them for as long as I can remember, but my heart always remains true. I still love them.

One focus I think that is completely key to being a happy and a content individual is having the ability of distinguishing fighting for the right vs. fighting for hurt feelings.  I freely admit that I still get upset when someone hurts my feelings, and it takes a lot to rationalize why someone would do that.  The question that needs to be asked is, "Is it worth it for you to expend so much energy on one point?" If your answer is "yes," then go for it.  Make sure that your argument sticks to the facts and does not focus on your feelings.  You can express your feelings being hurt in a factual way instead of yelling and screaming.  State what happened to make you feel that way, and you will be surprised at the reaction that you get from your adversary.  Use a statement like, "When you did/said that ,whatever it is, you hurt my feelings." 

Negative energy will eat you alive and strangely warp your inner self.  There are way too may things in life to spend your precious energy on, like loving your children, your husband and your family. I like to think of energy. Why?  There was this man who died a long time ago who believed that we are beings of energy and when we die our energy has to go somewhere.  I think that he was a brilliant man.  I am a little bit biased though.

I hope that you didn't think that my key to being happy was all sunshine and lollipops? 

Welcome to 2011!  This year I have decided to create a place to publically express how I am feeling and what makes me happy.  Everyday, I have been writing in a journal so my first blog will just be refreshing what has been written previously.

01-01-11  To think about what truly makes me happy is a very easy thing for me.  First and foremost, my children make me happy.  I have two wonderful daughters who are both cut from very different cloths, but what is life if it is not interesting?  To some, they are amazed as to how wonderful and brilliant my oldest child is, but they fail to realize that we are all on different paths, and the younger one has just taken a different route.  Mine is a modern day family; my husband and me, plus two daughters, each one from each of our previous relationships.  We all have different last names.  We love every day.  My mother's saying has always been, "You can't spoil a child with love," and I try to live by that rule.  Some of my greatest belly laughs have been created by one of my two daughters.  How is it that we can live so well mentally? Well happy does it!

02-01-11  My happy for this date is the love of my life, my husband.  I can only express to you that I had no idea what love was until I met him.  He makes me laugh.  He makes me smile.  He also makes me want to throw things at him and question why I married him in the first place.  Oh, the love that I have for him is always undeniable.  My kids have two people who they can look at/up to to understand struggle and love.  I think that I would never be who I am today without him in my life.

03-01-11 They don't even realize it but having pets(in my case cats) also causes a great deal of happiness.  We as pet owners tend to treat our pets like little humans.  We personify their behaviour.  My cats make me happy.  At least once a day they will do something that will make me laugh out loud.  

04-01-11  I know that a lot of the fitness experts would look down on me for this one, but I love a good cup of hot coffee.  The best cup I get is usually from home.  I find that the action of drinking a cup of coffee relaxes me and puts me into a happy place.  I am content with the place and I enjoy that place.  One expression I use quite often is "being able to breathe".  It is not just the literal sense of it, it is the being able to be present in the space that you occupy.  Being aware of things around you, but not allowing the distractions to take you away from that moment.  When I get a great cup of coffee, I can feel the heat from the side of the mug.  I put my nose/face over the steam coming out of the cup.  I inhale.  Then I will take a drink.  It sounds like a love story, with so much detail, but that is my happy, a great cup of coffee. 

05-01-11 Who would not be happy with great tasting food?  I love the taste of all sorts of food.  I don't know why I get so much pleasure from eating food, but there is just something about the melody that mixtures of flavours can create.  Hot and Spicy.  Sweet and Sour.  Bitter and Mellow.  When my palate is guessing what the creation is, my happy moment occurs.  

06-01-11 Great converations with wonderful friends will always be a great pick me up.  I find that when I am comfortable with friends, I may notice that I could probably talk for hours.  Our conversations are never boring, and having friends helps me emotionally and mentally.  I truly do love my friends.