Baby It's Cold Outside. Ideas to Up the Cozy Factor

One of the ingredients in a happy life is creating positive emotion, and savoring and being grateful.  On a cold, rainy/snowing/sleeting day is a great time to hunker down and get cozy.  Here are a few of my favorite and simple ways of creating a cozy atmosphere.

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As you know, my New Year's Resolutions this year is to find more meaningful happiness.  When you are using your talents and strengths to accomplish something, you are happier.  When you do acts of kindness and have gratitude, you are happier.  I've been looking for a way to put more good out in the world, using my strengths and talents, and I have come up with two ideas.  

What Giving It Your Best Really Looks Like

Today I feel like poo.  I have a cold. I'm tired, have a massive headache, and it's freezing outside. Like many, I had nothing but the best of intentions for killin' it in the New Year.  I wanted to start it all off with a clean house, clean eating, etc.  Instead I stare at all the crap strewn throughout my living room.  There are Christmas gifts that need put away, my kids bathrobes are on the floor, there is never ending supply of stuffing everywhere from my dog's Christmas toy.  Seriously, how does so much stuffing come from one little stuffed animal??

I sigh and bend to pick up the bathrobes, but instead I grab a blanket and a pillow, wipe some stuffing aside, and set my butt down on the couch and turn on the fireplace.  I just don't have it in me today.  Sure, I can dig deep enough to at least get the living room presentable, but I'm not because I really don't need to.  No one is coming over.  I've got no place to be, and if it bothers anyone in the house that bad, they can pick it up, but that ain't going to happen because they are all playing or relaxing some place else right now.

How to Make a Resolution You Will Keep

I remember the first year of my marriage coming in with my list and proudly showing my husband all the things that I and we were going to accomplish this year (yes, I had my goals and couple goals).  I said, "Where's your list?"  He looked at me blankly and said, "I don't have a list."

Resolving to be Happy in 2018 (January's Assignment)

In the last two weeks I have read a ton on happiness, and it's a great timing too because I am surrounded by happy kids, love, family, time to think, good food, and no where pressing to be.  In other words, perfect conditions to consider happiness and resolutions for the upcoming year.

I find there are generally two camps of resolution makers. Ones that do (and really do) and ones that don't.  I fall firmly into the first camp.  I do, and boy do I do with charts and lists, and SMART goals, followed by eventual self-chastising over failure to meet said goals.

Looking over my resolutions for the past 7 years (yes, I've kept them all-don't judge) I found a couple of things: 1) I basically keep the same goals over and over (eating better, exercising more, try yoga, clean the house more often, etc.) and 2) I keep the same goals over and over because I have yet to achieve them.

How to Live a Life with No Regrets

A while back I listened to a TED Talk that mentioned 5 regrets of the dying, and I have been obsessing about whether or not I am living a life I will not regret later ever since.

The five regrets are:

1. I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself and not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.
3. I wish I had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish I had let myself be happier.

The scary thing is the stuff they mention on that list....it takes place in the tiny decisions we make every day.

Night Owl to Morning Lark Success. The One Thing That Finally Worked!

Well, I finally did it.  I have been getting up at 6:15 pretty consistently, and I didn't even realize it.  Since I survived Thanksgiving break and kept my routine, I'm calling it a success.