Happiness Week 2

I won't talk too much about my Happiness Project , I promise (this blog is still for Ainsley and I will do regular blog posts), but I thought some of you might be curious to know more about what this is that I'm doing. As I already explained I will focus on a different area each month. My area of focus for January is Health, I thought that was a great place to start. It is hard to be happy if you aren't healthy, especially those of us who were born with near perfect health. It's so easy to take for granted. Boy am I finding that out the hard way, with a virus in my inner-ear that is causing me to feel dizzy and awful, like I'm drunk 24/7.  Though that might sound fun to some of you, it ISN'T. It might be more accurate to say it feels like having a bad hangover. Plus feeling dizzy and off balance doesn't make it easy to anything physical, especially exercise. You hear exercise is key to having energy, which I could use more of. I'm not an athletic person nor do I want to be but the idea of yoga appeals to me. It is good for the body, gives you energy and does positive things for the spirit.  So my plan was to start doing yoga this month. Finally I thought I felt well enough to try, and after an hour of doing that while dizzy I'm not so sure it's really good for my health right now. I can't afford to injure myself.  Even simple things like preparing nutritious food is difficult. I have to put off getting new glasses, a dental and doctor appointment until I can drive. I am able to remind myself to breathe(simple but highly important), think about my posture and take my vitamins, but I was hoping for bigger changes. So I'm hoping for an amazing turn around these last few weeks of January so I can get on track focusing on Health and get back to normal life and make up for these first couple weeks.

Despite feeling like crap poorly I have found that my Happiness Project and Happiness Photo Project has been making me feel happier, because I am thinking about all the things in my life that bring happiness. It's a subtle mindset shift. It's nice to go to bed thinking of all the good in the day instead of just how exhausted I am. So here is Week 2, I hope you enjoy!

What Made Me Happy - Week 2

01/09 Not Losing My Thousands of Photos

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Monday was my first Happiness Photo Project blog post and I encountered some technical difficulties in my photo editing software. They still aren't 100% resolved. Something is amiss. But at one point I thought my THOUSANDS of photos were corrupt, gone or something terrible. I've had friends lose their photos and it's not something I think I would tolerate very well. When I confirmed they were safe I was VERY HAPPY!

 01/10 My New Lynx Fur (Fake) Vest

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It's SO SO soft! Almost like real fur but better because it isn't. It's hard not to feel happy when you are surrounded by cuddly soft fur.
 

01/11 Non-Marking Shoes

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Adrian started basketball season today. We were a little short on notice because the coach didn't realize he was the coach until two days ago. I was SO happy when it turned out that one of Adrian's 2 pairs of shoes (remind me to take the kids shoe shopping) are non-marking so I didn't have to scramble to buy basketball shoes for practice.

01/12 A Fun OT/PT Activity

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Steve built this great marble run for Ainsley. It's great because it gets her in high-kneel for long periods. The fact that she is kneeling gives her stability, but allows her to practice balancing without support which is a precursor to standing and walking. In addition she is using her pincer grasp. Look at her tongue stuck out in concentration. It's a challenging activity but FUN for her and she can do it by herself.  Hooray!

01/13 My Husband Packing Up the Christmas Stuff

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Why does this make me happy? Because I'm not doing it! Love you honey!

01/14 A Snow Day For the Kids

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There is nothing funner for kids than playing in the snow! They were so excited today when it started to snow that they ran outside in their pajamas. For Adrian that means shorts. How fantastic is that?! Our weather is somewhat mild here in the Pacific Northwest. Some years we don't get snow. They were worried it might stop, so they ran out to feel it fall on their faces and catch snowflakes in their mouths. Then they got dressed in appropriate snow clothes (thanks Grandma!) and spent most of the day and some of the night outside building their first full sized snowman. Our yard at the other house was too small but the yard at our new house looks like a winter wonderland when it's covered in snow. I think it might be just enough to change their minds about moving to this house. It makes me happy to see them so happy and I am so grateful that we get to live in this beautiful house.

01/15 A Snow Family

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Snow fabulous SNOW! It snowed huge FAT snowflakes ALL DAY! It was fantastic! The kids had the best time! It kept me busy, finding items for snowpeople (and dogs), and drying clothes in between outings.  Ainsley asked to go outside! I was so thrilled. I got her all bundled up and she sat out in the snow with her brother and sister. She was a little shocked by the sensation of snowflakes falling on her cheeks and quickly decided to cover her face with her mittens but she did it and I'm so proud!  It was a great photo op for me even though I'm still dizzy. How could I possibly resist?! The hard part was picking ONE picture for this day. But this picture of their snow family is it because it represents all the fun we had in the snow. It was Adrian's idea to make the snow dog. And Evie's to make the snowbaby. And after all this was done Evie was sad because even though her dad played with them for hours in the snow  he didn't help them build an igloo like he did a few years ago. Geez!

Based on the amount of snow there is on the ground I have to wonder if the kids will be going to school tomorrow. Happy Monday, and Martin Luther King Day!  To see the full Happiness Project Album click here.