31 Days to a Happier Life - Day 18

Today, I exercised - yeah!

Today, I had lunch with a friend, while the kids played together = happy!

Today, I did two loads of washing, and cleaned the lounge room - lovely.

Today, I helped out another friend.

Today, I sat and talked to my kids...and we laughed = beautiful moments.

Today, I put up some beautiful art in my lovely clean, organized closet - so pretty.

Today was a great day, which makes me happy.

Joy - from Etsy shop The Wheatfield by Katie Daisy

31 Days to a Happier Life - Day 9

Yes, we indeed can survive without friends, but they certainly add a substantial value to our lives that it really seems pointless not having them. Friends are the perfect sounding board, supporter, counselor, co-conspirator. Being a good friend adds even more value to your existence. Be the kind of friend you want as a friend.

Friendships are important because they make us feel like we are part of something bigger than ourselves. Caring for others, and in return being cared for, feeds a fundamental aspect of our soul. It makes us feel understood, like we belong.

Share with others how important they are to you. Show them you appreciate them.

Love your friends.

31 Days to a Happier Life - Day 7

This is Day 7 of the 31 Days to a Happier Life Series. If you are new to my little blog, here is a review of what has happened so far:

Day 1 - What is Happiness?

Day 2 - Set Goals.

Day 3 - How to achieve your goals.

Day 4 - Daily Goal/Task Schedule.

Day 5 - Being grateful.

Day 6 - Don't worry. Be happy!


Well, my little bean is still feeling under-the-weather, and home from school today - that makes it the third day off school! This virus was a doozie! Hoping this one extra day of rest gets her all energized and strong for school tomorrow. I do think I will have a struggle on my hands tomorrow morning trying to get her out the door. She is very attached and has no great desire to leave Momma at the house whilst she goes to school. She would much rather stay at home with me. But we are slowly getting better each day.

So I thought today would be the appropriate day to talk about family and friends and how they play an important role in your personal happiness.

I love my little family and try hard to show them I love them and do not take them for granted. But some days, when we are bogged down in worry, and laundry, and time management debacles, we can lose our focus.

One of the best ways we can show our love and appreciation for our family is through food!

We try every night to sit down all together as a family and eat dinner...a home cooked dinner... at the dinner table...with no TV on. We feel that this connection is an important one, and one worth fighting for. Doesn't it seem these days that everyone and everything is trying to pull us away from the family dinner table? Sports games, practice, music lessons, play dates, television, working late, other family commitments all seem happy to disrupt our ideal family-together-time. And for this reason we block out our dinner time as RESERVED and make sure nothing is planned at that time.

Cooking a home-cooked meal everyday night can seem like a daunting task, but with a little planning it is not as hard as it sounds. I like to plan out my meals weeks, or months in advance. I print out my meal planner and post it so we can reference it to be able to put out meat to defrost the night before, or for the weekly grocery list, or so the hubby knows what to expect, etc, etc. Here is my meal planner for the next 7 weeks! YES, the next 7 weeks.

Now I only plan for week night meals. Most weekends the hubby cooks (YEAH!) and we eat with my in-laws - usually something grilled on our fabulous outdoor fire-pit grill made by hubby's cousin (it really is awesome!).

 
I work two days a week, so I'm trying to plan leftovers for the days I work - hey, why not make this as easy as possible, right? Crock-pot recipes are my favorite - stick the ingredients in, close the lid and turn it on. But sometimes I may get more adventurous...and sometimes more mundane...just depends.

The point is, though, that cooking a homemade meal shows your family you care for them because:

1. You have taken the time to actually cook for them.

2. You are cooking a delicious and nutritious meal for them.

3. You are coming together and spend quality time together around a home-staple - the dinner table.

4. The effort put into your family will show in the long run as a better connection and closeness.

I also make a point of assigning tasks - my little bean sets the table, and her big sis clears the table. It shows that it takes a team effort for a family to work, it is not just Mom's job. Big important stuff right there!

So if you can start with one or two nights a week for family dinner, it will be worth the effort.

Tonight I am making Chicken Noodle Soup

Happiness Links

October Meal Planner - Edie's October Meal Planner over at LifeInGrace

ZipList - LOVE this app - use it all the time

Healthy Recipes - Better Homes and Gardens - I signed up for their weekly newsletter and get meal ideas from there all the time.

Recipe Source - any time I'm looking for a recipe I can usually find a good one on Recipe.com

31 Days to a Happier Life - Day 6

I am so happy I have nearly finished my closet makeover project. This has been a HUGE project for me, with lots of challenges along the way, and I'm so proud of myself for working out good solutions and making it all come together into a beautifully finished product. What a stress relief this will be to have it all put back and tidied up.

Stress and worry are terrible things. The bible tells us not to worry, that worry cheats us of today. We need to focus more on our worship of God instead of wasting our time and energy worrying about things that are out of our control. Faith is all encompassing - we must allow Him to control our life, and not let worry control our life.

Of course this is a very difficult things to do, but one worth practicing each day. When I get all panicked and anxiety creeps in it usually manifests itself in other areas of my life, like becoming frustrated with my kids, or getting mad at my husband, or having self-doubt. The first thing I usually do is blame someone else (for anything!).

I was talking to a friend recently, and something she said really stuck with me - "We are so quick to blame others for things that are in our control."

We really need to focus on the problem, find a solution and get on with it. Instead we waste energy worrying, getting mad, blaming others, being frustrated. I always tell my kids, when they are getting frustrated with a project, or mad at each other, to sit out and calm down; to take a big breathe in and then blow all that bad air out; to "Stop, Think and Do The Right Thing". Now what I really need to do is tell myself this each time I become frustrated or mad.

So, today let's concentrate on getting things done, being happy, and spending less time worrying.

31 Days to a Happier Life - Day 1

Well here goes my first attempt at writing a 31 Days Series -  31 Days to a Happier Life.

This is a series that started over at The Nesting Place, and is now a staple on many wonderful blogs throughout the month of October. Per The Nester's Blog post - "31 Days is an online writing challenge where we all link up on day one and then write about a topic of our choice every day in October."

I think this will be good writing practice for me, but more importantly, an establishment of a real plan to being happier, a focus study on what makes me happier, and key pointers on how to implement it permanently into my life.

 

Me and my girls.

What is Happiness?

hap·pi·ness

ˈhapēnis/

noun

noun: happiness; plural noun: happinesses

1.

the state of being happy.

"she struggled to find happiness in her life"

synonyms:

pleasure, contentment, satisfaction, cheerfulness, merriment, gaiety, joy, joyfulness, joviality, jollity, glee, delight, good spirits, lightheartedness, well-being, enjoyment;

“HAPPINESS is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort” – Franklin D. Roosevelt



This Emotional Life on PBS has a really interesting study on happiness - I really like this list they came up with for some emotions attached to happiness. I think this will be a good list to work with as we progress through the next 31 days:

Some of the positive emotions that psychologists are studying:

• Gratitude
• Serenity
• Joy
• Interest
• Hope
• Pride
• Amusement
• Inspiration
• Awe
• Love

Here is a cute video from Coca Cola - Coca-Cola Happiness Truck Philippines.  I love seeing people being happy!

Am I happy?

Well, overall yes, and no. There are definitely areas of my life that need improvement, and areas where I have made progress and am currently happy. But I think I do need a good boost in the general happiness factor. And striving for more happiness is never a bad thing, right?! I tend to think that if I am happier the people around me might be happier as a result. If I'm less stressful, more attentive and loving, I know my family would really appreciate that, and in turn be happier, more loving, and less stressful. At least it is worth a shot!

The funniest horse pic ever! From Little One's birthday party.

What makes me happy?

Here is where the process starts. Write a list of all the things that make you happy. Big or small. Daily things or once a year things. Physical, material, emotional, spiritual, superficial. It doesn't matter, just make a list.

I will also share any links, videos, etc I find along the way that may help define happiness, or pinpoint how to be happier.

So...here is the start of my list (maybe this will be something we can add to each day):

• Reading
• Art
• Crafts
• Antiquing
• My Family 
• Hearing my kids laugh
• Coffee
• Chocolate
• Sharing
• Opening my blinds in the morning to let the sunlight in
• Light
• Clean House
• Organization
• Good Friends
• Learning new things
• Yoga
• Exercising
• Quiet moments
• Comfy bed
• Sunsets
• Snuggling with my girls
• Laughing
• Listening to music
• Pinterest 
• Projects that get done :)
• Dreaming
• Stars
• Fireworks
• Space (physical)
• Space (mental)
• My time with God (devotionals, prayer time, quiet listening)

Okay, that is at least a start. As we progress through I'm sure I will add more little things to this list, because I think happiness can be found in those little moments, as well as in the big moments too. I don't think it is really possible to be 100% happy all the time, but I think it is important to find out what makes you happy so, when you need it, you will have a list available to reference for those times when a mood hits and trying to get out of that funk is hard. Having a list of little things helps as a step up out of the funk and into the sunlight of happiness.


I LOVE this video about The Science of Happiness - An Experiment in Gratitude - this really started me thinking about my own happiness and gave me the idea behind this 31 Day Series (even though it is rather funny that this video made me bawl my eyes out!!).




So where to from here? 

• Happiness List - I'm going to write my list out and post it onto my bulletin board so it is easier for me to add to as I think about things that make me happy. Focus on the good things that you currently have in your life, not things that would make you happy that you don't have - they may lead to frustration this early on. We are not at the change stage, just the focus stage and figuring out stage of our happiness journey. 

• Goal Settings - next up will be goal setting and how that will be important in order to implement our happy list back into our lives (or into our lives more intentionally). 

The beach (in Australia - my home country).

I am really looking forward to writing this 31 Days Series about Happiness and hope you will be inspired along the way. If you have any suggestions or feedback or comments please feel free to leave me a comment - I would love to hear from you :)

My sweet sister.

“THOUSANDS of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared” – Buddha