Project Happy, Week 3- Service

I started my own happiness project 2 weeks ago.  You can see the start here.  Week one goal was more energy.  Unsuccessful, but I'm still working on it.  Let me give you a recap of my 2nd week goal which was organizing.  I'm still un-organized.  Yep, that pretty much sums it up.  Just kidding.  Not on the un-organized part though, that's true.  But there's a lot more to this being happy than I thought.  Maybe that's why this book became an actual book and not a paragraph.  I like quick fixes.  And while I'm not unhappy, I'd like a quick fix to extreme happiness.  (That's where chocolate & orchids come in I guess) So my goal of organizing the office wasn't completely successful.  But it's got 4 less boxes in it, all unpacked and put away.  (I still have the boxes un-flattened sitting in the hallway.  But they're outside the office, so technically it's an improvement right?)  I did however get pictures hung in K's room, my bedroom and M's room.  And the tools and paint cans that have been strewn about my house are all put away.  So I was able to cross off some things on my To-Do list and that always makes me happier!  I guess happiness is really how you choose to look at things.  I prefer a little sarcasm, laughter & basically denial.  That's my secret.  There, someone pay me a million dollars for my fool proof happiness secret!

Ok- moving on to week 3.  Service.  Serving others always makes me happier.  I actually find it easier to serve friends more than my own family so I'm going to work on serving my family this week.  Here's some ideas I hope to incorporate this week:

1) Creative dates.  Not just the usual dinner and a movie.  Go here for great ideas!

2) Love notes:  Here's a darling lunch box love note idea found here.  

3) Better family dinners.  I dare you to tell me that this chicken pot pie doesn't say love!

                                       you can find my recipe here

4) And maybe getting the hubster's car detailed.  Does a clean car make you happy?  It makes me happy!

Those are my goals for this week.  And I will continue to work on more energy & organizing.  As far as my happiness scale this week, I'm at an 8.  But I think my surge in happiness has mostly come from my children's first day of school!  Hallelujah this summer of messes and chaos and laziness is over!  I should've made this weeks goal organizing, now that I have an actual shot at it!

Now go be happy!

Happiness ProjectvWeek 2: Organizing

So a follow up from last weeks challenge. Epic FAIL!   I chose MORE ENERGY as my first challenge.  Sleeping more, eating better, working out, drinking water, etc.  After 1 week of this goal I'm actually up 1 pound!  And no, it's not muscle or I wouldn't be wearing sweats today.  Working out is actually really miserable.  How do people enjoy it?  I don't get it?  It doesn't make me feel happy other than a huge relief when its finally over.  Last week, on a scale of 1 to 10,  I was around a 7.5 on the happy scale.  After last weeks challenge, I have to LOWER my happy scale to a 6.8.  Basically, week one stunk!  I need a new happy challenge.  Maybe a happiness project for the impatient & lazy?  Yeah, that sounds more up my alley.  I'm going to continue working out & eating right this week BUT, at all costs, avoid stepping on the scale.

Let's move on, (shake it off girlfriend) and focus on something else.  Ahem, ORGANIZING.  An organized home is a dream of mine.  I'd love to have closets that were well designed.  I love labels and baskets & clean counters.  After this last week of failed attempts at upping my happy dance, I think I can find happiness success at finishing up some pesky projects that are cluttering up my closets and counters.

Here are some of my goals for this week:
1.  Hang new entry way light
2.  Hang dining room light
3.  Hang pictures & art in master bedroom
4.  Attach letter K's to K's room
5.  Hang road signs in K's room
6.  Hang art in M's room
7.  Unpack boxes in the office

Obviously, my To Do list is basically finishing moving into my house.  I think it will make my brain more zen-like to not see stacks of photos and art leaning agains every wall in every room of the house.

Happiness Project Score Week One:  FAIL
The nice thing about week one being a complete disaster is there's no where to go but UP!  Like my Pollyanna attitude?  I prefer describing it as Pollyanna attitude rather than calling it what it is, DENIAL.....But anyway, back to happy stuff.  Here's some organizing genius that are inspiring me this week:

 via

                                                                                    via

via 

via Pottery Barn

Good luck finding your happy's people.  Hopefully you'll have better luck than me..... 

Project Happy: Week one, more ENERGY

So I read the Happiness Project book over a month ago.  I was totally inspired to start my own happy project.  I sat down and immediately made some goals.  And I knew I wanted to blog it.  But I hesitated.  Blogging my goals means (deep breath) actually DOING it.  (Big sigh)   I need to feel accountable to someone to really stick my plan, but I wasn't ready to commit.  Still not sure I'm fully ready, but I gotta take the plunge.  After all, this is supposed to make me happier right?

My Week One Challenge:  More Energy!

So how do I get more energy?  As Gretchen did in her book, I'm breaking it down to sleeping more, eating right and exercising.  Shocker right?  These are basics for every day life.  But oh so hard!  In The  Happiness Project book she reinforced how much sleep you get a night actually determines how happy you are.  She says that there was a study that showed getting an extra hour of sleep a night would make people just as happy as receiving a $30,000.00  raise?  Not so sure about that, I think I'd much rather have the $30K but I guess it's worth a shot.  I once read an article on sleeping that said that people vary on how much sleep they need.  To find out how much sleep you need, go to bed and wake up on your own without an alarm clock (aka: fussy baby) and see how long you slept.  Most people are happy with 7.5 hours of sleep.  I tried it on a weekend and guess what?  7.5 is my lucky number too!  Most nights I only sleep 6.5 hours, so apparently giving myself an extra hour will feel like I just got a windfall.  We all know the statistics of exercise and how that makes us feel.  And we all know the saying, "you are what you eat" so I'm not going to give any explanations of why I'm including these two factors into my happy equation this week.

 So here are my actual goals for this week:

1.  This week I will sleep 7.5 hours each night.

2.  This week I will work out 5 times, anything I want to do.

3.  This week I will eat clean.  Only fresh fruits and veggies and lean meats.  (Coke Zero, I'm pretty sure grows on a tree right?)  And no crinkly packages!  This is one of Gretchen's rules too as crinkly packages tend to contain a lot of unnecessary calories.

4.  I will drink 80-100oz of water each day.

These are all things I should be doing anyway, but this summer has been a lazy one and I fell off the wagon on every one of these goals.  I told you in my previous post that my happiness scale is about a 7.5 today.  I'll let you know where it is in one week from today.  And a heads up:  next week's goal is organizing.  And I know some closets who have yet to meet her!  Wish me good luck on finding my happys!

And here's a little video that makes me really happy:  I cry every time I watch this.  I would love this proposal!

My Happiness Project

Have you read the Happiness Project?  I sat on the beach, watching the kids make rafts with drift wood  and got inspired by this book.  On a scale of 1 to 10 how happy am I?  I'd say about 7.5.  I'm pretty darn happy.  But lets face it, I'm a dress size away from falling off the happy wagon.  I decided when I was about 25 that happiness doesn't just happen.  It's a choice.  And it's something I have to continually work on.  Being positive doesn't come naturally to this extremely unlucky girl.  (I have the weirdest things happen to me and tend to be pretty sarcastic)  But I have to choose to focus on the positive and not dwell on the mishaps.  Here's the author's website if you haven't heard of this book, she's got great tips for starting your own project too!

So I came up with 10 things that make me really happy.  I'd love for you to come up with your own list.  I found this to be really interesting.  I had to think about exactly what it is that makes me giddy inside.  Here it is:

1.  Fresh flowers.  I buy a blooming orchid every time I see one.  I tend to like indoor flowers in pots because they last longer.  A simple orchid in my kitchen makes me happy and lasts for 2 months.  Best $9.99 ever spent!

2.  Making beds.  Doesn't matter if your room is spotless.  If the bed is disheveled, it ain't pretty.  I have to have every bed in every room made.  Every day!  Freshly changed linens make me really happy too.

3.  Clean counter tops and surfaces.  Clutter drives me crazy and tends to wear on me.  Walking in to my garage every day makes me depressed.  I've got to change that!

4.  Music.  I need to play more music when doing jobs around the house.  I tend to be angry when picking up the same room 10 times in one day.  Someone, of course not me, may tend to raise their voice and get annoyed with the same shoes and crafts left out over and over.  I think if I turned on some fun music, my attitude would change.

5.  Splurge a little.  And when I say splurge, I mean on the little things.  I noticed that I tend to be a cheapo on little things like a fun dish towel or cute paper napkins (instead of the bajillion boring pack)  that would make me smile.  When I hand my family yellow polka dot napkins at dinner, I smile.   Buy the nicer soap and not just reserve it for the guest bathroom.  Always have fun stationary on hand.  It's simple, but gives me a boost every time I use them.

6.  Make time for traditions.  I tend to feel overwhelmed instead of getting excited for Halloween or V-day.  Why not write it on my calendar and make carving pumpkins a party rather than a chore.  I tend to think about it the night before halloween and hand the kids sharpies to draw on their pumpkins.  They are always disappointed with that idea.

7.  Make little things more exciting.  I had a really good friend that made everything a game.  Movie night had a concession stand and tickets and individual bags of popcorn and treats.  Dressing up like a Princess and going to buy the newest disney princess movie.  Using the "You are special plate"  for little things like getting and A on a test or giving a talk in church.  Why aren't I doing these things?

8.  Random acts of kindness.  Doing something for others always cheers me up.   I've noticed though that doing things for friends is easier than doing them for my family.  How sad is that!  I've got to work on that.  Be nice to everyone.  Especially my own family.

9.  Dress my best every day.  Staying around the house all schlumpy makes me feel schlumpy.  And running a quick errand and hoping I don't see anyone I know, NEVER works out when I'm in sweats and unwashed hair.  I  think you are guaranteed to see more people that way!  I took a class once from a lady that said you should look your best at home for your family.  Not for the outside world.  I've taken this to heart.  I don't spend a lot of time on my appearance but I'm happy to say that I no longer own a single free t-shirt or any t-shirts for that matter!  I instantly feel better....

10.  Dates.  I must continue to date.  For my marriage and for my sanity.  Girls nights out are included too.  I have to have some time with friends.  Lunch dates once or twice a month.  Play dates with other moms and their kids and ALWAYS a Saturday night date with the hubs.  I live for these moments of sanity.

Those are what makes me happy.  So with that said.  I'm going to work on some goals, keeping in mind my daily happy factors as written above.  Each week I'm going to work on one goal and get back to you on how it's working for me.  I'd love for my blog friends to try along with me or come up with your own, but do something for yourself.  As my dad would say "Go find your happy's and come back when you have them!"

I'm starting on Monday.  So stay tuned!  My first goal is FEEL BETTER.  And after writing this list of 10,  I already do!