Happy Trail

In honor of my 2009 Word I decided I needed a way to actually DOCUMENT my happiness journey. I'm taking a page from my co-worker & friend Amanda's blog and daily life attitude.

The plan here is to write at least 5 things that have made me happy or lighthearted or even made me laugh out loud that day (or since the last time I posted). Sometimes we get so bogged down with the day to day of life and the bad things piling up around us, we forget to find joy in the little things. That's what these lists will help me remember to do.


Here's the first list to get us started on the Happy Trail:

1. My current job duties. I haven't been happy in my job for awhile, mostly because I felt like I was seriously under-utilized. But, my new duties have made me busy AND challenged, so I was really happy today working on my newest project. Yes, happy working on Standard of Quality.
   
2. Waking up my boys and they're HAPPY or EXCITED about the new day.
   Seeing them embrace the day with exuberance and joy makes it so much easier for me to start the day the same way. I was so happy with them this morning, I made a weekend breakfast for them (weekend mornings are just made for big breakfasts, are they?).
   
3. Noodles & Co. Yeah, that one might seem weird to some of you, especially if you don't have one near you to know what I'm talking about. It's comfort food baby! I love their Parmesan Butter Noodles topped with Parmesan Crusted Chicken. And I had it today. YUM! Always good for a smile.
   
4. Running outside. Since I haven't been able to run outside that much, it was so cool to do it tonight in the semi-warm weather. Completed 3.7 miles, which was even cooler since I haven't done anything in about 2 weeks due to a head/chest cold. Go me! Looks like I'll be set to do the Virtual Race on Saturday, assuming my body can handle 7 miles (I think my legs can do it, it's more a question of heart and lungs)! But, even if I walk it all, I can say I DID 7 miles!
   
5. Finding my "voice" again. I realized that just because I'm not allowed to lead KidStuf anymore, doesn't mean there's not joy to be found in those songs and in the memories. and my kids still really enjoy these songs! This all hit home when I listened to "Here and Now" last night. (View Lyrics; sorry, due to copyright constraints I can't post the actual audio.) So on the way to and from work, at work, and on my run tonight I listened to a lot of the old kids songs. And I was really happy about that!

So - there you have it. That's what my Happy Trail posts will be like. I might not always go into detail like this, especially if it's something I've already said before. I think listing them like this so I can go back and read them again (while listening to Here and Now) will keep me on the Happy Trail!

Happy trails to you, until we meet again.
Happy trails to you, keep smilin' until then.

(yeah, that will probably be my regular sign off on these, too!) ;-)