Some things that are making me happy
It's Monday, and I thought you and I could both benefit from a little looking-at-the-bright-side time to combat the Monday blues.
Ok, well, I know I could use it at least.
And if you could too, then join in by leaving a comment.
It's light out when I grill at dinner.
I really like not having to depend on the deck light to illuminate my grilling efforts now. Yay for DST!
Lisey's birthday is coming up this week.
And we have some fun things planned, including a meal out with just Lisey and me.
A friend gave me some flowers. In a tea tin!
I think I actually may have been the one who gave her the tea (along with some chocolate!) when she needed a little cheering up.
So, hmm...maybe I'll have to figure out something else to do with the tea tin next time I bring her a little something. 😉
It can be the traveling tea tin of happiness. 😉
Zoe got to make snowmen.
It's been a not very snowy winter here, and we mainly felt sad about that because Zoe didn't get to make any snowmen. Zoe loves the snow and she always makes great snowmen.
So when we got that unusual March snow last week, she got her 2017 snowmen made. Phew.
(Zoe's best snowman-making secret? Cut eyes, eyebrows, and buttons out of avocado peels.)
It IS officially spring now.
People have coined the term Marchuary because it's been colder here now than it was in February. But hey, at least we can say it's spring now.
And I feel optimistic that warmer weather is on the way.
My oven window is clean.
I don't usually spend Sunday afternoons cleaning, but for some reason, I picked up my SOS pad and went to work on my spattered oven window yesterday.
It's hard to take a picture of...but now it's so clean, you can see right through it to the floor below when the oven door is open. See?
How about you?
If you need some cheering up, feel free to make a little happy list in the comments!
P.S. More posts about contentment right here.
Like you say, nothing is ever all bad, and nothing is ever all good. Why not focus on the cheerful things rather than the not cheerful? Thank you for the cheery post.
The sun is out and I am happy that Spring is on the way!
I am a little overwhelmed on this Monday, maybe expecting that I can accomplish more than I can accomplish!
I deep cleaned my bedroom and found 2 missing pieces of clothing. I love having everything super organized and I love finding my lost items. That made me really happy. I am loving the lighter evenings, but missing the light in the mornings. It is hard getting up when it is pitch black. Happy Monday!
I'm with you on the joy of being organized. I find it deeply satisfying to open a closet and see everything in its place.
I miss the light in the mornings, too.
Amen to that! It does me no good to have the extra light in the evening because I don't have an extra hour to use it in. I still get home around six and have to be in bed in time to get up at 6:15 the next day, so I'm rushing around the house all evening.
On Thursday I received welcome news at work.
On Friday, some friends told me they have a contract on a house; even better, it's much closer to my place. On Saturday they came over to experiment with their portable pizza oven. It cooks pizza lightening-fast: 90 seconds for a thin-crust pizza with toppings. As usual we had a great time and as usual, we pulled out the fancy foods (including boar sausage, fancy fresh mozz, Quebecquoise hard cider) because we enjoy sharing them with each other. Dessert was two pies, because I didn't make a pie for Pi Day.
Sunday, through gritted teeth, I worked through a pile of tax, medical, and other paperwork. Readers may remember how I loathe dealing with medical and insurance issues but it is DONE! I was tempted to stay home from work in order to keep staring at my mostly-paperless desktop.
We didn't finish the pies, so I have both strawberry pie and deep dish apple pie to look forward to this week.
YAY for getting thru paperwork! So excellent.
That's how I feel about having my taxes filed. So, so happy.
1. Took LO outside to enjoy the warm weather yesterday. My floors still need to be vacuumed, but oh well. He's growing up too fast!
2. I'm enjoying my coffee...
3. I'm enjoying being productive at work (I'm preemptively enjoying this as I haven't started yet for today. But when I do, I'm going to be productive!)
We visited the roller rink both days this weekend for different reasons. One was with my daughter's GS troop and the other for her cousin's birthday party. It was good exercise and something I don't do very often. We also went to see Beauty and the Beast last night (just me and my girls). We finally got to see Dad/my husband. We were gone for a week to my parents for Spring Break, and then he left the next day for a business trip so even though he had to work this weekend, we did finally get to see him! Hopefully this weekend we can do something together as a family and enjoy this beautiful weather.
I am happy that we are having relatives from all over starting this week--mainly my husband's close relatives; I am also happy that I am finished cleaning in preparation. (Only menus, shopping, and cooking to go--these are kind of fun.) Thrilled that all 5 granddaughters will be here for one of the visitors' weekends for lunch and playtime. It feels SO good to have them all here at the same time.
Oh my gosh, SNOW? It's been in the 80s here. We barely got a winter of any kind, so I'm sure the bugs will be bad this summer. Boo.
I've been down in the dumps lately, but I like the idea of thinking about things that make you happy. Our little radishes in our garden have started to sprout and they are so adorable. I like to brush my hands over them.
Also, our meals this week are new and exciting, which makes me quite happy!
And some extra sunlight is a bonus, too, of course. 🙂
Yes Muss Picky, same here in Florida, Panhandle area, way to warm, we had not a Winter at all, 75 -80 , not looking forward for this pest called bug's, no see them, mosquito's, and many more, I believe in climate change, so we just have to feel miserable for a hot , sweaty and humid Summer! DLS I don't care for , it mixes and messes our and the animals biological clock up. Iam happy that my two shi zu mix are healthy and happy.
I am also loving the DST, but am not looking forward to the bedtime struggles with our 3 year old. She thinks it's wrong that she has to lay down when it's still daytime outside 🙂
I also did some deep cleaning and re-organizing of our basement leaving me feeling very accomplished this weekend. I find that an accomplished-feeling Sunday takes me into the work week on a productivity high and ready to go!
When I was a kid I thought it was grossly unfair to have to go to bed when it was still light out. My bedtime was 8:30 up through elementary school so in the summer I was outraged that I had to go to bed before dark!
On Friday one of my favorite people moved back to Michigan after living out of state for 7 years. Another friend of mine got engaged on Friday to a wonderful man. I signed a lease on Saturday to live in a cool downtown area. And my second niece arrived Saturday afternoon. She is perfect and has a full head of hair! Overall, a wonderful weekend and I am so thankful!
I'm happy that my best friend is coming to visit for a long weekend!
She is the most wonderful, die- hard, there for you when times were tough friend, and she continues to be after many, many years.
So very lucky that my husband has basically adopted her as his 3rd sister, and our son thinks she's the best thing since gummy worms (his favorite indulgence)
What's making me happy?
I'm making some progress on getting ready for my mission trip this summer. I finally have my vaccinations, and it you knew the comedy of errors I've been through to get them, you'd know why I'm glad to have injections! It's way too long to write here, but I can assure you it was maddening.
I was happy watching my youngest granddaughter trying to walk, even though she isn't ready to do it alone yet, this past Sunday.
It made me happy to be out in the sunshine since we've had some frosty mornings lately. I'll be ducking the fierce sun all too soon, so I enjoy it when it actually feels good.
I'm happy to have finally carried off four bags of clothes and shoes to charity. Our bedroom looks bigger without those bags there, collecting clothes.
I'm happy that my husband seems to have fixed the riding lawnmower. Hurray!
I love the flowers in the tea tin. I have a few of those tins I saved because I knew that someday they might be useful.
Today I am happy that spring weather is coming for us. I am happy that I made dinner for tonight last night. And I am happy that we finished our taxes over the weekend!
What a perfect post for a Monday! Maybe you would consider doing Monday posts like this more regularly? It was wonderful reading it and then thinking of my own "happy list" too. Also, can I just say that your oven door looks AMAAAAAAZING!! I know that kind of cleaning job is a big ol' pain but it's always so nice afterward when you can clearly see inside when you are baking. I saw on Pinterest that magic erasers are supposed to be good for that task and I was gonna try that since I have some already, but if they don't work well then I'll have to pick up some SOS pads because yours came out so great. Nicely done!
Yes! It'll be so nice to not be greeted with baked-on grease spatters.
I've never tried the Magic Erasers on that. I guess I'll have to wait until I mess up my oven again. Ha.
Today's 'Google Doodle' (https://www.google.us) is making me happy!
Agree, the Google doodle for the first day of spring was absolutely adorable! I watched it again and again and it made me smile. 🙂
I like those posts!
What is making me happy these days is (apart from the obvious like health, my kids, etc)
* My cat. She's old, she pucks all the time, she sheds a lot and my husband can't stand her, but when she curls up on me at night I feel happy!
* Going to laser tag with a couple girlfriends next week-end
* Having won free movie tickets. Will go with hubby while my mom babysits
* That both my daughters got invited to a friend's birthday this past weekend and that they had fun going.
* That I found a replacement for daughter's winter coat (broken zip) for a fraction of the original price because it's end of season. So I ended up buying her current size and a size up, both coats for 18$!!
* Planning our family trip to British Columbia.
* To have a good job and hubby too. My job pays well enough for me to only work part-time (I'm on call), so I can take care of my family also.
(last comment : not implying that moms who work full-time don't also take care of their family. Just that my part-time allows more free time to do it, so less rush!)
Oh Kristen, I needed that!
I've been stuck at home with a gnarly (and super contagious) eye infection for nearly a week now, and just as I finished reading your post, the sun came out after a long day of heavy rain and left me sitting almost perfectly centered in a sunny patch. Thanks for making me take the time to notice and appreciate it!
Yay for sunshine!
I hope your eye is better soon. I had an itchy eye problem for about a month once and oh my goodness, it was terrible. I wanted to scratch my eyeballs out!
It's the little things that make us happy isn't it! This weekend my husband repaired our ice maker that was spraying water everywhere which required removing everything and cleaning it out. Now I'm enjoying seeing a clean neat freezer. A potluck salad lunch with dear sister-friends. Laughter around the table...joyful am I!!!
Marchuary has been so hard! It is harshing my mellow as well. But I also have many things to be happy about:
1) I am in the midst of comprehensive exams for my history phd program. Last week I did thirty-two hours of written essays. Next Monday I will do two hours of oral exams. The fact that writtens are behind me feels like a huge accomplishment. I am spending this week studying, but at this point I'm this close to having this huge thing behind me.
2) Financially we are more on track this year (so far!) than we have been in a while. With me being in school, my husband building a business, and babies coming fast and furious, for a couple of years there it seemed like as soon as we built up the savings, we would pull them out for something else. But the business has grown and stabilized, and we're formally budgeting for the first time, so we feel more in control and are seeing the savings accounts starting to grow again at a faster pace than they have for a while.
3) I know spring will be here before we know it. Like I said, I have oral exams next Monday, then I fly out on Wednesday for a conference in Denver, and when I return it will be April.
4) I am slowly losing my baby weight. I would like the process to go faster, but it is winter, when I usually add a couple of pounds. Plus I am turning 36 in a couple of weeks, and I am three babies in. So the fact that I have been able to slowly, steadily lose weight over winter while I do comps is just about a miracle. Hopefully once it warms up I can tap into my natural inclination to eat smaller, lighter meals to lose that last few pounds.
5) Not only is the business stabilizing financially, but my hardworking husband is learning how to pull fewer all-nighters. We're hoping that we're pulling through the prime hustle time of life and careers, and we're looking forward to a much more relaxing summer.
The weather was really nice yesterday so the dogs got to go for a walk at the local park. They were happy!
I got a great deal on a purse I had my eye on at Macy's for $3.25. A pink Fossil bag! I did not break the bank, just smart shopping!
We needed new tires for our car, found out we can get 5% back by using our Discover Card, hubby picked an install 4 free weekend and they were $60 off so while expensive it saved $170.
I went to the store early so I could read labels on things I was going to buy. Do you know I could not find prepared meatballs without sugar in them. Ugh! I made a huge batch of homemade ones and froze them.
Lovely post. For the tin, you could make a pan of shortbread cookies, cut to fit. Since they are flat and square, you'd be surprised how many you could get in it.
I'm still trying to get motivated today. Need to clear my desk, do taxes (single, no property, they're easy, just know that I may owe, or break even hence the procrastination), purge excessive amount of stuff throughout the house. But first, a cuppa!
That was precisely my reason for procrastinating. I knew I would owe, and I didn't really want to see how much. 😉
But I DO feel better now that it's all done. Phew.
This is a wonderful, uplifting posts. Everyone seems to hate Mondays so much. Things that make me happy are really too numerous to list.
This weekend, after a trip to the er, my grandson did NOT have appendicitis.
I found the bottom of three clothes hampers.
Everyone liked the supper I made last night although it was not a large one. We ate BLT's and had enough for three unplanned guests.
Sunday afternoon was a very quiet and calm day at my house which is a pleasant change from the chaos that comes with multiple children.
I came into work this morning ahead on the paperwork that needed to be completed by the end of the work day. It was all done early in the day.
Looking forward to a Dave Ramsey conference in the middle of the week.
Warmer temperatures have been forecast toward the end of the week.
Always look for the bright side.
What a perfect post for International Day of Happiness (per the internet). Happiness for me includes (but is not limited to) my family, my husband, and good coffee. (I can't help it. I believe coffee is mandatory.) Happy to be in the Dominican Republic to enjoy some warm weather while getting dental work done which saves me lots of money. Happy to know I will be able to spend time in Texas before heading back home to Washington next month, too. 🙂
Oh, I had no idea that it was a happiness day today!
I think we folks north of you hogged all the snow this winter, Zoe! What a winter it's been here... I am happy that the weather is finally spring-y enough that we were able to put our taps out on the maple trees yesterday. I can't wait to bring in the first batch of maple syrup! Even the muddy people prints and dog prints all over my floors can't take away the joy! It is so good that mud season in New England comes AFTER the long winters. And I can always be happy that I have a house full of people to make those muddy prints all over the floor.
I love the "Traveling Tea Tin of Happiness!" Definitely made me smile 🙂
Oh my gosh, I needed this. I have been having a HUGE pity party for myself that my son despite his hard work is frustrated with his ACT score, my husband has been out of work since 1/1 and despite a few phone interviews he hasn't had any in-person interviews, and I feel like everyone in the world is doing far better than I am.
So, I'll try to find a few bright things:
My son is back on the tennis court after an injury, has straight A's in school, started a new club at school that he's enjoying (he and a friend created it), and has an interview today for a summer internship--and he should soon be ready to get his driver's license.
My job is going well--albeit very busy! But I have a great staff and I'm going to be hiring someone additional soon.
I have a very good friend who lives across the street from me who is like a sister. She's always, always there for me. 🙂
I have a good husband, and my parents are doing well and live close by and we see them often. Plus, I have an awesome brother, sister-in-law, and niece who I adore!
Yes...it does make you feel better to look on the bright-side. But when things aren't going your way, it's tough to remember that nothing is all good or all bad. Yesterday, I might have cried...twice.
Oh my. I'm so sorry a job hasn't opened up for him yet. Much sympathy to you!!
And I hear you on the crying. Like you, things are great with my husband and my kids, but there are some other things going on that are making me cry buckets. And one of my best friends just moved to Texas last week, which is making me cry a whole lot.
It's ok. There is nothing wrong with crying. Feel your feelings, my therapist says! 😉 And crying sad tears does actually help release some sad hormones, so crying can truly make you feel better.
I hope things start to look up on the job front soon!
Thank you--that means a lot! 🙂
Thank you for your cheery post! Last night I was encouraged by meeting a Christian musician who I have long-admired. We found out about it at a nearby church and decided to go on a whim. She has done several recordings, and I'm about to embark on my own. It was such a delight to meet her and be encouraged in the Lord. However, when I texted a few close family members about it and shared how God was using this meeting to encourage me, I was confronted by one who said they wanted to talk to me privately about it. I responded graciously and said I didn't want to discuss it further, but if they wanted to chat about something else, I would love to talk. While my text was sharing something good, this individual took it a different way because we have differing views on music. I'm not here for a debate, but all this to say is that I was so excited, and then someone came in and felt like they need to say something and crush it...but--I decided to be gracious and have prayed for my spirit and theirs all day. As a Christian, my joy is in the Lord. So even on rough days (we all have them), I must focus on Him. It's the only way I can get through. Sometimes passages of Scripture and music will help me as well. For this, I am thankful today.
thanks for your post... means a lot at the moment.
It hasn't felt like winter all winter long. My electric bill is low so that makes me happy.
Tomorrow is free registration day at the local college. We will utilize that offer twice. Perhaps we will win something in one of the many raffles they will have
I was so upset this morning that I actually considered starting a list of things I hate. Mondays always top the list but after reading everyone's contributions, I feel way better! Thanks to you and your followers for redirecting my thoughts.
Thanks for this, Kristen!
My family has enough food to eat. I have a job I love. My husband is a wonderful provider. My kids can see and hear. I live in the age of air conditioning and the internet.
I second what Dori asked about considering making these posts somewhat regular!
Aw, I love the traveling tea tin of happiness -- also, the snowmen! It is not easy to steady those suckers! Also, appreciate the avocado peel tips.
I have nothing particularly happy to note other than it is almost vacation (woot!) and I visited a friend down south this weekend. We bought cheap tacos and sat at the beach and yapped. Perfect.
Do enjoy your birthday time with your girl -- it's so special, as they get older. Kudos!
I adore the idea of a traveling Tea tin of happiness.
We had wonderful friends in town this weekend and really enjoyed our dinner together. Another friend is coming over tomorrow and I finally get to meet her adorable baby. As always, I'm grateful my husband is such a good cook!
Reading the "traveling tea tin of happiness" made me happy today!
That tea tin filled with flowers is total cuteness!
Let's see: Happiness = my mom is feeling better and rebounding from being sick, our dentist accepts our new dental insurance (I was sooo worried about this!), my son continues to make outstanding grades in school, our Spring weather has been fabulous (San Antonio) and I have a wonderful job. Bonus happiness = planning a family summer trip to Puerto Rico.
I always love your lists of happiness and your lists of 5 Frugal Things. Have a great day, FG!
Yay for happy thoughts and taking the time to be grateful! I second anything with more sunshine; it really is great having light last longer. Your traveling tea tin of happiness is so cute! My kids, though frustrating, are rays of sunshine as well. They both fell asleep on me this afternoon and it was so sweet. Of course, now as payback, the two-year-old is still awake and going strong at 9:20 pm. Always best to focus on the good (including little things)! Thanks for the reminder!
I thought I recognized that brand of tea. I've only tried the cinnamon, but it is wonderful!