Happiness Blog Hop: Boot Camp Perfect

Welcome to the Happiness Blog Hop.  This is hosted each month by Stephanie Medley-Rath at Scrapworthy Lives.  You should be arriving from Melissa's Blog, but if not, feel free to jump in and then check out the other blogs in the hop.  


This is the last month in this particular blog hop.  I am sad to see this hop come to an end.  It has been fun.  I read the book either at the end of last year or very early on in this year (from the library), but I decided to buy it for my Kindle so I will have it as a constant reminder.  


The theme for the month of December was Boot Camp Perfect.  In the Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin tries to follow through with all of her resolutions in one month during the month of December.  I didn't consciously set out to do that, but I think that, for the most part, I kept up with everything that I needed to, and accomplished most of what I set out to accomplish for the month.  There were things that I let go, and even though I might have been disappointed in the time that I wasn't able to juggle everything, I know in the long run, it was better to leave some things unfinished rather than to try to get everything done on time and totally stress out about every little thing.  


One of the main things during December, for us, is family.  We don't have big families, but we always end up hosting every holiday meal at our house.  Usually, there is stress involved, and this year was no different.  But Tim and I did take a teeny bit of time out from the crazy holiday schedule to have a date night.  We wouldn't have done it if left to our own devices, but Jessica was determined that we get out of the house and have a special night out.  It made me think about the need to focus on marriage and our relationship and not get so caught up in the day to day busyness.  We had a lovely dinner out at a restaurant we hadn't tried before, but it was one that actually recommended reservations.  It had lots of nice reviews, so it was a good thing we made reservations because we ended up still having to wait for over a half an hour.  It was just a dinner out, but it was really nice to get dressed up and to go out as adults and not have to worry about anything else for the evening.  


The other day, I created a little scrapbook page as a reminder of our night out and a reminder that we need to do it more often.  The journaling just talked about our night out and the fact that we forgot to get a picture of ourselves all dressed up, so we had to try and take one of ourselves right before we went to bed (thus the poor angle).  

I hope to keep up with the ideas from the Happiness Project in the years ahead and incorporate other aspects into my life as well.  There is always room for improvement and extra happiness.

Next up on the blog hop is Stephanie at Scrapworthy Lives (Stephanie, thank you so much for hosting and allowing me to be part of your Blog Hop!) 

The full list of participants is below:
Kiss & Tell Scrapbooking
Melissa’s Blog
Scraps & Sass
Scrapworthy Lives
Slice of Life
Take a Picture and Remember This
This Kalil Life
Your Memory Connection

Happiness Blog Hop: Keep a Contented Heart!

Arrrggghhh! I am late for posting today's hop entry because I apparently do not know how to accurately set the date/time feature for my posts. So sorry!!!!

Welcome to the Happiness Blog Hop hosted by Stephanie Medley-Rath (inspired by Gretchen Rubin's book The Happiness Project). Today's theme is Keep a Contented Heart.

The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is my favorite time of year. I'm sure it is that way for a lot of people. For me, it is my favorite because it seems like everyone is just a little happier -- a little more grateful -- maybe even a little more friendly. Maybe it is the beautiful decorations or happy Christmas music that plays at this time of year? These things can serve as reminders of happy times and help us shift our focus. Or maybe it is the December Daily, Journal Your Christmas, Elf on the Shelf, etc. activities. If you participate in these sorts of projects, you can find others who are just as excited about the season and can't help but feel like you are in the present and a little less focused on the external aspects.

Even though people definitely get stressed out about finding the perfect gift, not having enough money, fighting crowds in stores, getting overwhelmed by time commitments, dealing with family dramas or endless other issues, it still seems like there is an underlying tone of happiness. Or maybe that is wishful thinking on my part?

It is also the end of the year when we can reflect back on the memories of all of the months before. Each November, I end up freaking out a little because I realize all that I didn't accomplish that I wanted to in the year, but for some reason, in December, I start to marvel at all that has happened in the year and how we've made it through a little stronger, a little better, and sometimes a lot happier.

As an example... back in January I was able to spend six hours in Paris. Six hours. In Paris. Not much time at all, I know, but it was amazing and magical. It was a crazy whirlwind event and almost more trouble than it was worth (for most people), but it was a dream come true for me. I have been able to see and touch the Eiffel Tower (and take tons of pictures of it from almost every angle). I was in an abbey in England for ten days. I was *not* in a plane crash. I went to New York. I saw some of New Jersey. I earned my MFA. I saw so many of Little Mister's "firsts" this year, it makes my heart swell. We welcomed Conan to the family in April. Tim found out he had cancer. He had surgery and no longer has cancer. Then Kate (our Boston) got cancer, had surgery and is okay. We were able to look up some family history at Ellis Island. We also looked at some family history in Tim's family's old albums/papers. We finished renovating Tim's parents' house and sold that for them.  Jessica got an amazing job opportunity and is doing so well in the new position; I'm so proud of her. I've written about 20,000 words of a novel. I started a second Masters program. I've taken several thousand pictures. We've completed a bunch of fun crafty projects. We discovered Pinterest and have tons more to do. So much has happened.

I know I cannot keep up with scrapbooking everything, and there are a lot of things I wouldn't scrapbook, but there are so many rich memories, it amazes me. How do you keep up with it all?

I just know that at this time of the year, I have a contented heart. Yes, I still get grumpy at times. Yes, I get frustrated by people and want to smack some of them upside their heads. Yes, I get caught up in family drama and frustration. But it is somehow tempered by the contentment and love and doesn't seem so horribly bad.

What does the holiday season or the end of the year do to you? Is your heart content?

Next up on the blog hop is Scrapworthy Lives

Below is the full list of links for participating blogs. Please check them out!
Fun Mama
Kiss & Tell Scrapbooking
Melissa’s Blog
Nihao, Cupcake!
Our Life with Spiky Potatoes
Scraps & Sass
Scrapworthy Lives
Slice of Life
Take a Picture and Remember This
This Kalil Life
Your Memory Connection

Happiness Blog Hop: Paying Attention

Welcome to November's Happiness Blog Hop hosted by Stephanie at Scrapworthy Lives.  This is a take on Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project.  You should have arrived here from Pie for Breakfast. I've posted a list of the participating blogs a little bit further down if you get lost or want to start hopping. This month boasts the largest participation in the hop yet.  There should be a lot of goodness in store if you want to check it out.

This month's theme is Paying Attention.  I think that there are a lot of times that I am in hyper-attention mode.  I think, as women and/or mothers, we tend to do that from time to time (or most of the time) just to accomplish everything that we need to accomplish.  But have you ever noticed, that sometimes, when you are in hyper-attention mode, it actually makes you less productive?  Or maybe not less productive, but your productivity ends up going in different directions because of where your attention is focused?

I had to laugh at myself because I always forget about posting for the hop until the last minute.  I always have to write mine the evening before and set it to post on Monday morning because I can't be guaranteed to get up before 6.  LOL.  So this morning (Sunday), I vowed that I wouldn't forget, and I would get it done earlier in the day.  Here I am, when everyone else went to bed, just remembering that I forgot to write my post earlier.  The house is dark, I am tired, and I am cursing myself.  LOL.

But today was a day that I did pay attention.  Maybe not to the task at hand of composing a blog post, but found other things that caught my attention and I was thankful that they did.

My attention getters:

• Kennedy has learned how to say "Kiki" because he loves the Fresh Beat Band
• Kennedy has also learned how to say "uh oh" and will now say it about quite a lot of things (like dropping his crayons into the floor vents)
• Realizing that there was a new Yo Gabba Gabba "live" episode on tonight that delighted Kennedy to no end as he danced straight through the entire show
• A batch of old photos that I rifled through mid-morning and smiled at the memory of my grandpa (which triggered a memory of a dream I had about him the other night)
• Our dog's behavior, which was slightly off today, which led to a vet visit and a diagnosis of a pulled muscle in her back.  :(  Luckily, the vet thinks she will be fine after several days rest
• A small reflection in the dark upstairs bathroom that made me realize the toilet was leaking (ugh)
• A strange noise in the kitchen, hours later, which made me realize that the toilet was STILL leaking and it had traveled across and down into the floor and through the kitchen ceiling
• Being appreciative of all of the attention my dear husband was giving me today.  He made crepes for breakfast and then risotto for dinner and was not cranky all day :)  

So it might not be the most exciting or best-planned blog post for today, but it is what it is, and I'll try harder next time.

What is capturing your attention these days?

Next up is our hostess... Stephanie. Enjoy!

List of Blogs:
Fun Mama
Kiss & Tell Scrapbooking
Melissa’s Blog
Nihao, Cupcake!
Nuggets
Our Life with Spiky Potatoes
Pie for Breakfast
Scraps & Sass
Scrapworthy Lives
Scrap Your Life Slice of Life
Take a Picture and Remember This
This Kalil Life
1200 Some Miles
Scrapping Mojo
Your Memory Connection

Pursue a Passion: Happiness Project Blog-Hop

Welcome to October's Happiness Blog Hop hosted by Scrapworthy Lives.  If you are participating in the hop, you should have arrived from Take a Picture and Remember This.  If not, feel free to scroll down and check out the links of other participants.

This month's topic is "Pursue a Passion"... what is your passion?  Are you in pursuit of that passion?  Or are you on the path of another interest that doesn't quite reach the passion stage?  Or worse, are you just going through the motions to get things done and have no passion for them?  Do you ever feel like you have too many passions at any given time?

That is how I am feeling lately.  I think I have passion ADD.  Or maybe it is the fact that I don't focus and/or pursue any one passion for a sustained length of time because something always gets in the way?  In the process of writing this post, I even kept changing my mind on what my passions were/are:  writing (all types), scrapbooking, art, crafts, music, photography, spending time with Kennedy, travel, psychology/philosophy/spiritual development, internet surfing, time with friends/family, education (formal and informal), social issues/politics, creativity, cooking (as I type this my fingers are tinged blue-ish from canning grape juice), reading, and the list could go on and on.  How can I just pick one (or even two or three)?

What hit me while thinking about all of my passions is the fact that there is one over-arching theme.  I love to learn and do new things.  I love knowledge.  Over the past couple of weeks, during the day when I've had a few minutes of free time, I've been trying to become more organized and clear away some of the clutter in the house.  One of the things I realized, is that I also crave knowledge.

I have so many books and magazines, it is completely ridiculous.  I have tons upon tons of craft/art supplies for all different sorts of pursuits.  And then I have so many bookmarks on my computer, so much info on my hard drive, and various class materials here and there, it is just really evident to me lately that I just want to hoard knowledge and learn as much as humanly possible.  That is my biggest passion, and I am passionate about learning as much as I can to make my life full and rich.

Whew... maybe, as they say in 12-step programs, that admitting it is the first step?  Maybe this admission and realization will help me to handle the pursuit of my passion without constant frustration?  Let's hope!  :)

Here is a funky layout I created to express some of these thoughts.

Credits:  Paislee Press - Photobooth kit; Dani Mogstad - buttons; Michelle Ward - head; Gypsy Couture - necklace, crown, gear, note; Sara Gleason - template (modified); http://www.shimelle.com/paper/1245/scrapbooking-starting-point/

Next up is Pie for Breakfast.  Thanks for stopping by.  Be sure to visit all of the other blogs and share passions galore, but before you go, leave a comment and let me know what you are passionate about today!


Blog Hop Participants...

My Creative Days in Beijing
Kiss & Tell Scrapbooking
Your Memory Connection
Slice of Life
Take a Picture and Remember This
Scraps & Sass
Next stop... -->  Pie for Breakfast
Scrapworthy Lives