Happiness Project, Week 1

Well, the first full week of January, and the first full week of my New Year's Resolution of blogging every day has come and gone.  Nope, I didn't even make it past day 2 before the resolution was broken.  However; I don't feel that the intent of the resolution was broken. Perhaps I just need to tweak the wording a bit, or maybe week two will be better.  Here's what happened:

Last week was extremely busy around the old homestead.  I had something going on every single evening that took up free moments.  They were the kinds of events that made blogging very difficult, like having guests sitting in my living room, or being away from home and computer. 

The intent of the resolution was to work on my personal Happiness Project in 2011, and to that intent, it has been a successful week.  The fact that I am in the process of reading Gretchen Rubin's book; receiving her tweets, Facebook posts, and such; has very much kept my Happiness Project on my mind.  I am taking my motivational quote directly off The Happiness Project web site today because it pertains to exactly that which I am discussing:

“If you look at a thing, the very fact of your looking changes it…if you think about yourself, that very fact changes you.”

~ Robert Penn Warren

So the very fact that I am reading about Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project every day, and thinking about my own Project daily has caused me to already notice some changes in my outlook.  My post today will highlight some things I've found in the past few days that make me happy.

Starting my day with a lovely mug of herbal tea is a great pleasure.  I love all the things in this photo.  The teapot was a gift from my son and daughter-in-law for my birthday a couple of months ago.  I love everything about it.  The size is perfect for a cup and a half of my favorite tea. It keeps it piping hot, and it is the kind of stoneware that I adore.  The stoneware mug is one of five that I have.  They are different colors, but they are my favorite cups.  The sugar-free Torani caramel flavoring is my sweetner and is one of my favorite flavors.  The Twinings Winter Spice tea is a recent find, and I fear was a seasonal flavor.  Camomille teas are my favorites, and this one is blended with apple, cardamom and cloves. It is subtle yet flavorful and calming. The caramel goes perfectly with the hint of apple.  Celestial Seasonings also has an apple/camomille tea which I really like.

This photo highlights three things that make me happy.  It has been a very cold week, the kind of cold that makes a person just want to hunker down and get cozy.  That's exactly what I did on Saturday morning.  While enjoying my stoneware cup of Winter Spice tea, I was snug and warm in my fleecy lounge pants.  They are pink with Tweety Birds on them, which make me smile.  I kept my feet warm with SmartWool socks. SmartWool socks or handmade wool socks are my absolute favorite. There is just no comparison to cotton when you slip on a pair of comfy wool socks.  And the third thing that makes me happy in this picture is enjoying my new Kindle that I received from HubBub for Christmas.  The page that is showing is from The Happiness Project book, and the chapter that is about blogging. Gretchen's resolution, and mine.

 Having a salad for lunch usually makes me happy.  It makes me feel like I am eating a lunch that is good for me.  The extended crunching time makes me feel like I'm eating a lot of food. This particular salad makes me happy because it reminds me of my daughter.  It is her recipe; baby spinach, very veggie mix, grape tomatoes, dried cranberries, and unsalted peanuts.  I added cucumbers (which I like) and dressed it with a light Italian dressing.  It was delicious and reminded me of my daughter.

As much as it pains me to admit it, I love diet pop. I know it is terrible for me, so I limit my intake to an average of 1-2 cans per day.  This is my favorite cola. It has 0 calories, 0 carbs, and 0 sodium. I'm not sure what it has besides some nasty artificial sweetner that sometimes gives me an asthma attack, but I love it nonetheless. I like it over a big glass of ice, and I sometimes put a wedge of lemon in it. Somehow, limiting myself to a can or two a day makes the moment when I take my first sip a time of happiness for me.

Nice yarn and knitting most definitely make me happy.  This particular yarn really made me smile because of the connection to our last name.  The spelling is different, but pronounciation is the same.  It also makes me think of Linus who is Charley Brown and Snoopy's buddy.  When I am stressed out, or life throws some bumps into my road, knitting always makes me feel happier.  This ball of Linus was going into a new pair of mittens to keep my hands warm in this cold weather.

And here they are! The mittens that I began a week ago are finished, in spite of my busy week.  The are warm and fit my hands perfectly. The are a nice match for my red with black trim winter jacket.  FO's (Finished Objects in the world of knitters) always make me happy!

I am looking forward to the second week of my personal Happiness Project.  I'm not sure exactly what will happen, but I do realize that just having the intent of having a happy week seems to make a difference.

Be grateful and see the beauty in each day!