Just catching up on my Challenge. Some days are easier that others to figure out what makes me happy, but it’s nice to know there’s always something!

Day 7 – I had a hard time trying to figure out what made me happy last Friday, and it didn’t come to me until the end of the day. My gym membership allows me one personal training session each month for a discounted price. I’ve had the same trainer for almost five years and, even though I haven’t had much change in my weight or shape, he never stops encouraging me. This made me realize how I have a great support system, not only in my trainer, but in my friends and family too. That’s what made me happy…knowing I have so many people I can count on. It’s nice to know so many people care.

Day 8 – Cats make me happy. We can’t have one where we live right now, but the Husband promises that he’ll get me one as soon as we move to a place that allows pets. I always imagine that I would have my cat napping beside me while I write. I even have a name picked out: Kindle. One reason I chose this one is because of the word’s relation to books and the other reason is that it also means a group of kittens. I can imagine I would get a cat that would cause as much mischief as several kittens. There’s a coffee shop near the gym that roasts their own coffee beans and they have the sweetest kitty that comes out to greet everyone. The owner of the shop jokes that everyone comes to see his cat and then they remember to buy coffee. Here she is waiting for me to scratch her behind her ears:

Day 9 – Weekend coffee with the Husband makes me happy. We sit and have coffee together on most Saturday and Sunday afternoons. This is the time we spend chatting about whatever comes up. Usually, it’s about his work, my writing, family, or just talking about what’s going on in the world. Usually when we talk, there’s always something else going on at the same time, like the TV going on in the background, my husband on the computer at the same time, or me on my iPad. But coffee time is just me and him and no other distractions. This is one of the main reasons I look forward to the weekends.

We have mismatched mugs because we got them from work for free. But it’s a good way to tell my cup apart from his, since I like sugar in my coffee and he doesn’t.

Day 10 – This is my third mention about something coffee related! Sitting in cafes and coffee shops make me happy. I love being able to take the time to sit and just drink coffee. I also feel like I get more writing done when I’m in a cafe and away from home. I guess because it’s a change of scenery and I feel like if I’m going to take the time to leave the house, then I should make it worthwhile. I also love cafes because it brings back a memory of when the Husband and I went to Paris and there was one morning where we sat at an outdoor cafe for brunch. The weather was perfect which made sitting outside even more enjoyable. I prefer the smaller coffee shops, but Starbucks will do if there are no other options.

Image courtesy of Sura Nualpradid

This song makes me happy. I’ve wanted to watch Disney’s Frozen ever since I saw this video. I love the idea about not limiting yourself just because you’re afraid of what other people may think. Idina Menzel does the voice and singing for this character, Elsa. I saw her when she performed in Wicked, and I thought she did a fantastic job. That may also explain why I like the song Defying Gravity so much; Menzel sings that one as well and it has the same idea as Let It Go. I felt it was appropriate that I saw this on my Facebook feed this morning:

Image courtesy of Pure Spa and Salon

Happy New Year! It’s hard to post on a regular basis when you don’t know what to write about. I finally found an idea that will encourage me. I read Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project and I wanted to try something similar, but I wasn’t sure about a year-long project. Then I saw a post last week on Buzzfeed about the 100 Happy Days Challenge, and that seemed more appealing. Apparently, most people don’t have time to be happy, so the idea is to think of one thing each day that makes you happy and post a picture of it on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. I would normally post my pictures on Facebook, but I feel more comfortable doing this project on my blog.

I actually started this past Saturday, so I’ll put everything up to today into this post. Then I’ll try to keep updating as much as possible.

Day 1 – I’m happy that I know good people. This past summer, I received an invitation through Facebook to a barbecue from a girl I haven’t spoken to since college (which was many, many years ago). I decided on the spur of the moment that I would go, and it turned out she kept in touch with several other friends from college who also came to the barbecue. I reconnected with a lot of good people (and their husbands/wives) which led to me being invited to more events. Unlike people I knew from the past, they’re very low key and unpretentious. This past Saturday, I was invited to a birthday dinner at a seafood restaurant. My friend Ky let me take a picture of him wearing a lobster bib:

I didn’t notice until I look at the picture later that he can touch his nose with his tongue.

Day 2 – I’m happy that the Husband and I had the luxury of doing whatever we wanted on a Sunday. We don’t have kids, so that gives us some free time. I appreciate that I was able to spend the afternoon reading without interruption.

Book Cover Image Courtesy of Harper Teen.

Day 3 – I’m happy for warm weather, even if it’s only for one day. It was 56 degrees, which felt awesome! This was the day before the polar vortex and the temperature in New York was expected to drop to around 6 degrees. It also rained that day, which melted the massive piles of snow. I was happy about that too.

Day 4 – The Husband makes me happy. I can honestly say we rarely argue. I admit that we have discussions that get heated, but we never yell at each other. He tries really hard to see my point of view and I do the same. He’s under a lot of pressure right now because he knows the time to start looking for a new job is coming up soon. He tries not to bring his stress home, which I appreciate. He doesn’t like having his pictures floating around the internet, so I’ll post a picture of a cookie instead, which is my nickname for him.

Day 5 – My mother-in-law makes me happy. Whenever I see her, she’s always smiling and is in a cheerful mood. She always tries to make me eat, which she explained once is how she expresses her love. Even when I act cranky, she still smiles at me. I don’t have a picture of her on my computer, so I’m posting one with an apple instead. The apple is shiny and bright, just like my mother-in-law.

I’ll post until I get to 100 days. If anyone else is doing the 100 Happy Days Challenge, please let me know. I’d love to see what makes you happy!