Appreciations 3/14-3/16: Catrobatics, spiralizer & toddler workouts, sleep constructing

Toby’s slo-mo post-nap descent from the chair. Catrobatics!

I love funny conversations – and that I have so many of them. πŸ˜€
1. When I called to schedule my tax appt, the first date avbl was the day I’m scheduled for a colonoscopy. The scheduler and I laughed and laughed about how given the choice between working on my taxes and a colonoscopy, I picked the latter. Hahaha!

2. At my infusion appt, my nurse and I were discussing my myriad bruises and she suggested that perhaps they’d come about due to my secret nighttime construction job. Sleep constructing! Bwahahaha!

Sweet potato surprise!Scrumptious spiralizer meal Sarah and I made. A delicious sweet potato noodle dish, a decent upper body work out (srsly. sweet potatoes are NOT interested in being spiralized.), and surprising looking sweet potato sculptures resulted.

My new personal trainer, Ida! Loves being chased, lifted, twirled, danced with, and bounced. Workouts have never been so fun! ❀️

Remembering things. I made an unscheduled grocery run, so didn’t have my list. I still managed to get 13 of the 14 things that were on the list. #win #everythingisagame

Happy Project – Day 2: Snappy starts

Did you know that just a few minutes of bad news in the morning can set you up for a negative day… even 6-8 hours later?

Here’s a happiness experiment from Michelle Gielan and Shawn Achor that I’ve been working on incorporating into my days:Start out any conversation you have today by sharing something positive and meaningful.

So far I’m really enjoying the results of answering “How are you?” with something positive — as opposed to my usual “I’m okay – tired – overwhelmed – frustrated (or whatever version of that I might come up with).” These conversations have been WAY more fun. πŸ˜€

Have you tried this? I’d love to hear about your experiences!

Happy Project!

I’ve been working on a way to share ideas and research about positive psychology in a way that feels helpful, accessible, and doable. For now, I’m going to post exercises here and on Facebook. I’m calling it The Happy Project!

Here’s today’s idea for increasing your happiness right now. If you decide to try it out and are willing to share your experience with me, I’d love to hear about it!

Eventually the exercises I post will be part of my book and I am interested in feedback about the wording of the exercise (does it make sense? is it accessible? does it trigger anything negative?) and the effect of both reading the exercise and of doing it.

Happy Project Day 1
What is one of your favorite colors? Think about or write down some things that color that fill you with happiness.

One of my favorite colors is blue. Some blue things that fill me with happiness are my kids’ eyes, Lake Superior, my car, morning glories, a favorite old flannel shirt, a relatively new bath towel, shadows, my drinking glasses, the sky at night, and blueberries.

Bonus happy: Create a physical reminder of that color and/or happiness. Screen saver, collage of photos, drawing, sticky note, poem, frame a handwritten or printed list of the happy-inducing color things.

happy-blue

I made a new Facebook cover photo for myself!

Appreciations 11/10/16

My fabulously funny friend David! I texted him one of my “Thank you for being a bright light in my world” messages yesterday. He replied, “Wait – is this a reminder that I’m supposed to be your light bulb supplier?” In a hurry to get to a meeting, I just texted back, “Duh.”
Β 
An hour later, an Amazon Prime Now delivery person knocks on my door… and it’s light bulbs from David! And not only regular light bulbs…he’s included a colored LED remote controlled light bulb! So. Much. Fun!!!
Dinner with Katie and Cina and Sarah and Ida. Comfort food and laughter – just what was needed last night.
Β 
Today’s echocardiogram. I’m so glad there’s technology to track my heart’s function and help us figure out how to keep it going. Plus, it’s pretty neat to see and hear heart valves working. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. πŸ˜‰

Appreciations 4.109 – change

Woke up this morning having not slept very well, and found that as Pam says, “my cheery was weary” β€” meaning I was feeling a little more cranky/anxious/depressed than usual. So I did my day, noticing this, but not being overly concerned. So what do I appreciate about that? It gave me the chance to super appreciate my brain! I knew it would find some good stuff at some point.

candy cane cremesMckenzie and I went out to pick up just a couple things at Kowalski’s and while we were there, I found my favorite, most delicious seasonal gluten-free cookies! I hadn’t been able to find them at the co-op where I got them last year, nor online, and had been feeling sad. 😦 But there they were!

And yes, my little brain went to work and got all happy about it. And then it kept on working and decided that really the whole rest of the day leading up to that moment had been pretty good, and it pointed out to me that life really is, in most ways, pretty spectacular. Thanks, brain! πŸ˜€

window lightsI am further buoyed by the thrill of having lights up on the fence and around the windows. Pretty pretty pretty lights!

Topping off this very good day was a wonderfully fun rehearsal with women I love. Singing with them fills me up in so many ways!

Hahaha – the fun continues. Thank you, Pam, for your good ideas about wordplay!!….Now I’m thinking of other fun ways to describe my mood this morning…

My sunny felt funny?
My delight took flight?
My jolly’s AWOL-ly?
My sparkle went darkle?
My perky is murky?
My bright’s very slight?
My bubble’s in trouble?
My view’s in a stew?
My elation’s on vacation?
My glee is wee?
My grinning is thinning?
My mood’s got a ‘tude?

Other ideas? I’d love to hear them!!

Appreciations Year Three: Day 213

cheerio 4cheerio 2cheerio 3cheerio 1cheerio 5cheerio 6

The very exciting mystery of the cheerio trail, which Katie and I picked up at the end of the block and followed to the middle of the street 6 blocks away… One or two cheerio clues every 6-30 feet or so…. Hmmmm. Some treachery is afoot. (Well, if you step on the cheerios barefoot, that is.) πŸ˜›

The silly fun of clock watching and cheering at 1:23:45 am. Yeah, David and I really know how to have fun.

The even goofier fun of my own cheer back at home at 2:34:56 am. (Goofy because I know if f I stay up that late I am GOING TO BE TIRED the next day.) πŸ˜‰

Sunlight and shadows on my walls. How I love the sun at this time of year. sunlight on wall

Sharp scissors, nail polish, chocolate, lilacs, whistling, trains.

Appreciations Year Three: Day 150

Luna the model kitty, finding her light. πŸ˜‰

luna in the light

Awesome visit with Sarah and Ida. Oh, the giggles and smiles and drooling! (the latter was Ida, not Sarah and me…) What an amazing joy!

Crashing out early (remember that 2 am thing?)

Appreciations Year Three: Day 142 (more marker amusement)

Learning to be happy with little mini-projects instead of being frustrated that the big project is incomplete.

Knowing when it was time to take a break from work to tidy up the office and make it more inviting… for me AND the kitties!

Toby bedLuna bed

The thrill of getting a surprise gift for no special reason, and then the fun of knowing that after work I’d get to play with my new toys. Thanks, DH. You made my day!

chameleon thank you

Appreciations Year Three: Day 139 (the wordpress trial edition)

Hahaha! Reading last year’s appreciations for this day makes me really appreciate that it is NOT -20ΒΊ with a -43ΒΊ windchill. Today’s comparatively balmy 1ΒΊ temp is welcome. Plus sunshine!

These cool pens. I don’t own them yet, but just knowing they exist makes me happy! Chameleon Color Tones Pens

Sensory stuff: sunshine sparkling on the snow, the sound of the furnace keeping me warm, the smell and taste of my morning coffee, the smooth feel of the keys as I type.

Year 1, Day 89: aftereffects of feeling pleased with aftereffects of feeling pleased with aftereffects

Today’s gratitudes:

  • I appreciate the way bits of scenes from the improv-a-thon flash through my mind and make me laugh all over again. Nice aftereffect!
  • Hahaha – now I appreciate the word aftereffect. I don’t think I’ve ever written it before. It looks cool.
  • I appreciate how easily I’m pleased by words. Being a geek has its advantages! πŸ˜‰
  • I’m pleased by feeling so pleased about being easily pleased just now. So meta.