Happy Quote

The belief that unhappiness is selfless and happiness is selfish is misguided.

--Gretchen Rubin

Happy Quote

Recovering your emotional health will suffuse even small successes with joy, long before you achieve anything obviously spectacular.

—Martha Beck

Strawberries!

Strawberries are so beautiful, even their remains! How many of us can say that?

This Makes Me Laugh!

I don't even know where to start with this one.

As a Texan married to a New Yorker, I could have all sorts of fun arguing either side of the "Original Texas Toast" being made by "New York Brand."

Where I get stumped is the Caesar Crouton (French) Connection.

:)

Happy Birthday, Christine!

Yay! It's your birthday, Christine! And in celebration of the occasion, I found you a yellow Iris.

I hope the whole day is bliss!

Happy Birthday, Ned Andrew!

Some folks really struggle with birthdays. They complain about how old* they are, beg out of celebrations, and dread that day on the calendar.

I suppose if you really believe that there is some advantage to being young** then I can almost see your point.

But I really love birthdays. I get to celebrate someone I love. I get to wax nostalgic about all the years I have known them. I get cake.

What's not to like?

I especially enjoy Ned Andrew's birthdays. We get to laugh and play and go to craft fairs*** and the only difference a year makes is that I love him all the more.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Boy!

* Old? It is relative, I suppose, but the folks who seem to complain the loudest are the furthest from 113. When I turn 113, I'll talk about being really old.

** Young? Sure, my body might have been a little more limber a few years ago, but my mind was pretty rigid. ::shrug::

***The TACA Festival falls the first weekend of May in celebration of Ned's big day.

Happy Painter

We are uniquely blessed to live on nearly 7 pastoral acres bordering a large nature preserve. Today the luck of location and weather and inspiration hit our son in his creative bone. He set up his easel and painted one of our Bradford Pears.



What a lovely way to spend a Saturday morning. I'm delighted that he is already of the mindset that it is "worth it" to get out the materials to express his bliss. That makes me happy. I hope he never forgets that he's a wonderfully talented painter!

Happy Guys

The guy in the red sweater is Ned Andrew. He is from New York. He's never been around farm animals.

The guy with the big smile is Ernie. He is from Texas. He's never been around New Yorkers.

They met at Thanksgiving and are now the best of friends.

The End.

(Don't you love a happy ending?)

Blissful Blue Skies

We have had more than our fair share of gray skies and storms over the past few weeks. So, when the sun came out this afternoon, this dogwood absolutely glowed.

Flowering trees amaze me. What? Leaves that change from chartreuse and deep green into bright reds and oranges and yellows aren't enough? Mother Nature thought, "Yes. I'll put flowers on them for a couple of weeks in the spring. Just for fun!"

I love that.

Happy Turkey Day?

We had a massive storm in our neck of the woods today, so I got a little giddy when the animals started marching by my kitchen window in pairs.

I got downright hysterical when this turkey started knocking on my back door. Her 3 friends weren't quite as forward as she--but they certainly were eyeing the dry house with interest.

Baking a Batch of Bliss

They may look like ordinary peanut butter cookies, but these little mounds of delight are loaded with love. There are a couple of little details that add to their bliss-inducing magic. (1) I was estranged from my paternal clan for over two decades and shortly after I arrived at Daddy's for the first time in 21 years, my baby sister, Angie, showed up with the makings for these cookies. (2) Two of my kids are allergic to dairy and gluten and we struggle to find foods that they like to eat that don't cost a billion dollars* and these cookies fit the bill.

We make a batch of these wonderful cookies once a week. We eat about half of them while they are still warm and package the other half up for lunch boxes and after-school snacks.

Warm cookies? Wonderful.

Warm cookies baked with love? Bliss!



*May be a slight exaggeration.

Happy Couple

Then we sat on the edge of the earth, with our feet dangled over the side, and marveled that we had found each other. --Erik Dillard

I have wonderful, supportive friends and a large, caring family, but I have to admit that there is one relationship in my world that combines both. I am massively blessed to be married to my very best friend and am grateful every single day that Ned Andrew is in my life.

It wasn't always this way--we managed to bumble along on separate paths for decades. The waiting and wanting only makes our time together even sweeter.

There is a Happily Ever After!

Happy Flowers

I popped into the Brentwood Library to pick up a copy of Stumbling on Happiness and came across these delightful flowers. I am a sucker for spring bulbs of any kind--but I have to admit to being especially enamored of these bright orange tulips!

Enjoy!

Candlelit Dinners are Bliss-Inducing

Ned and I love to eat really good food. We also have the happy coincidence of loving to prepare really good food. We are going to cook dinner most nights anyway, so we figure we may as well spend the time and make something that we will really enjoy.

Our Monday Night Feast this week was Ned and Gina's Shrimp 'n' Grits served with Garlic Steamed Artichoke with Herbed Brie. I have to admit that this meal was beyond scrumptious and worth way more than the hour we spent laughing and singing in the kitchen.

Oh, did I mention that we enjoy making dinner?

Yes. Even the every day stuff can be wonderful fun!

Bon Appetit!

Happy Math Class

Ned gave a presentation at the Memphis University School today in this classroom.

There were 60 hand-made dodecahedron models hanging from the ceiling and these colorful posters of tessellations on the back wall and all sorts of wonderful inspirational sayings around the room.

I've never met this teacher, but I would love to take their class!

Happy Trails

This makes me laugh out loud!

Only on a back road in the middle-of-nowhere-Texas would they post a sign telling you to slow down to 65 miles per hour for a sharp curve on a two-lane no-shoulder road!

Oh, and I am from Texas--so this is posted with nothing but love for my home state and all of her (fast) drivers.

Happy Flowers

Our baby girl loves to paint and created this blissful scene of blooming spring flowers on one of the grayest days in February.

It makes me want to sing!

I'll happily pass along any comments to the artist.

My Blissified "Office" with a Gorgeous View

I love my "office." It is a cozy space on our sunporch that allows me a panoramic view of the 6+ acres where we are lucky enough to live. I watch the weather change, the flowers bloom, the deer roam, and the turkeys strut. Though I do go into a traditional office for client meetings, this is where the majority of my "work" gets done.


I snapped this shot a couple of mornings ago while sitting in my favorite chair working on a draft of the Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation for a nonprofit we are launching. The grass is just starting to green. The bulbs are beginning to peak through the mulch. It was warm enough to have the doors wide open. While I worked on the draft for about 9 straight hours, it felt like I was playing hooky! How can being in this space be, "work?"

In the past, I have had offices with skyline views of Nashville, dumpster views of the parking lot, and enclosed views of drywall. I worked hard in all of them. I get the most done here.

Bliss.