Some new ideas....

They say that the secret to happiness is finding what makes you happy on a small scale and then cramming as many of those things into your week as possible. They also say the daily practice of gratitude is key as well.

With those two things in mind, I have started a somewhat new tradition (for me). The first is themed days. And it's so new that I only have two themed days so far. The first one is Nail Polish Saturday. As a mom of four, I hardly ever get time to pamper myself. I'm happy with a shower and the daily slap-dash of make-up as I commute to work. But yesterday I went to Ulta and found some cool nailpolishes. The first one from Rimmel is Shocker (see below):

It's pretty and it dries fast. Fantastic. I also got O.P.I in Azure for Sure, a pretty blue one:

So yesterday was Nail Polish Saturdays for me. It doesn't have to be for you. What's important is that you find that one little treat that you love and make a special day for it. Do you like gourmet coffee or imported tea? Make a day for it. What about cross-stitching or quilting? Make a day for that too.

Of course, make it do-able. You can't expect to squeeze a whole quilt into one day, especially if you have young kids or work full-time outside the home (or full-time inside the home for that matter!).

Today was New Hairstyle Sunday as well as Ban All Errands Sunday. I do like to multi-task (even if it is Sunday). I didn't do so well on the Errands front...as I did have to run to Staples to buy a new printer, but I fault Canon Multipass for that. While at Ulta yesterday I purchased a headband that has little "jaws" clips on top of the band part. It is so you can do those twisty things with your hair. Okay, this written description doesn't do it justice so here is a pic:

It's fun, it's fast, it looks great. Which is better than I can say about the past two days I tried putting platinum blonde streaks in my dark brown hair.

The second part of the Happiness Prescription (as I see it) is Daily Gratitude. I had a gratitude journal once and it worked....for awhile. So I changed formats. I bought an index card box and decorated it with metallic permanent markers. I like to think of gratitude as a one-word description of, "Happiness is...." This means I can say, "Buying cute pants at TJ Maxx" or "eating yummy pudding" as well as, "raising my four beautiful children and experiencing their zest for life." Each night I write the date on the top of one pretty-colored index card and then list those things that mean happiness to me and for which, by default I am grateful for.

It's a fun process and a bit more creative than a stuffy 'ol journal. I believe there is a time and place for journals but sometimes you need to get a bit more creative. Of course, you could always have a vivid, visual gratitude journal done in pictures. But I think that most of us would plotz at the thought of a creative project right before bed.

:o)