My first blog !

I have been putting alot of time and effort into thinking about starting a blog. I get so much enjoyment out of reading other peoples blogs, that i wondered if i had anything of interest in my life to share with others. I am envious of anyone who can sit down and hammer out a few paragraphs that are witty and interesting. So i figured there is only one way to figure out if I can do it or not, and that is to just give it a whirl !

For my first blog , I thought I would talk about happiness. I started to read a book titled "The Happiness project" by Gretchen Rubin. In the book she sets goals for each month, to work at being more happy. Simple things like going to sleep earlier, tidying up clutter to more difficult things like stop nagging your husband and learning to fight right.

I guess I haven't been feeling happiness to my maximum capacity lately, so this book title enticed me immediately while standing in the book isle. As i started to think of my life, and what makes me the most happy, i had moments flash through my brain that I had forgotten and that actually made me smile. One time when it was raining outside, my sisters and I were dancing around on the front lawn, being silly, and my Mom threw out a bar of Ivory soap and told us to wash up! another time i remember standing in my Nonna's kitchen helping her make homemade bread, while we were kneading it out we were supposed to add anise seeds , which we both forgot ! and so we kneaded them into the already made bread loaves and chuckled over it. When i was about 5 years old, my step dad put on a wig and i didn't realize it was a wig, and i went to brush his hair and the wig fell off his head into my hand. I remember eating the best tasting tomato and onion salad with a fresh loaf of Italian bread, at Prudhommes Landing with my Dad and Uncle, like we were ravenous animals. Walking down isle towards the most amazing man, who was standing on the alter waiting for me with the biggest smile on his face. Walking back up that isle , a married couple!

This got me to thinking, bringing up all of these happy memories, made me feel very happy. They actually made me smile. They made think of other happy times, they started rolling through my brain like a movie. So if thinking happy thoughts make me smile, then they must actually make me happier? So my goal every day is to think of happy times, happy places and happy moments, which in turn will make me feel happier.

Would you consider yourself happy?
Are you happier now than you were before?
What makes you the happiest?

The dictionary defines happy as:
1. delighted, pleased, or glad, as over a particular thing: to be happy to see a person.
2. characterized by or indicative of pleasure, contentment, or joy: a happy mood; a happy frame of mind.
3. favored by fortune; fortunate or lucky: a happy, fruitful land.

So later on tonight when you are sitting in front of the TV, or just as you lay in bed, close your eyes and picture some of your happiness times, see if they put a smile on your face, like my happy memories did. I hope they do for you too !