Category Happiness

What’s Making Me Happy 4/30/13

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  • The first thing that is making me happy is the date!  I love that it’s the 1st of May tomorrow – all 1sts are great! – and I love that I have one more opportunity to plug Poetry Month! 
  • Poetry makes me happy!  Here’s a flowchart (courtesy of Book Riot) to help you choose one poem to read before May dawns a new month to celebrate.  I chose two poems from the list and copied them below:  

DEEPER

Dennis Lee
From:   unpublished, 1999.

Often at night, sometimes

out in the snow or going into the music, the hunch says,
“Deeper.”
I don’t know what it means.
Just, “Push it. Go further. Go deeper.”
And when they come talking at me I get
antsy at times, but mostly I stay put and it keeps saying,
“Deeper. This is not it. You must go deeper.”
There is danger in this, also
beautiful fingers and I believe it can issue in
gestures of concord; but I
cannot control it, all I know is one thing—
“Deeper. You must go further. You must go deeper.”
http://www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/lee/poem3.htm

Dennis Lee’s works copyright © to the author.

I had a little nut-tree,

I had a little nut-tree,
Nothing would it bear.
I searched in all its branches,
But not a nut was there.

‘Oh, little tree,’ I begged,
‘Give me just a few.’
The little tree looked down at me
And whispered, ‘Nuts to you.’

Roald Dahl
  • I finished reading “The Accidental Tourist” by Ann Tyler.  I listened to about 2/3 of it and then after I finished my other book I picked it up and read to the end.  It is a great book!  The audio was painfully slow – I would count to 7 between sentences sometimes.  Just try listening to someone talk that way!  So I was glad to pick up the book and review it and power through to the end.  I look forward to seeing the movie and getting together with book club to discuss!  I think I may be a little bit of an Accidental Tourist… and can’t decide if it’s a good thing!  
  • I had the bonus weekend off last week and enjoyed the beautiful weather (baseball game! walks! playgrounds!) but still made it to two Rochester International Film Group Festival movies!
  • Saturday I saw “Caesar Must Die” (Italy), which is about inmates at a high security prison who put on a public performance of “Julius Caesar.”  Random thoughts: Even Italian prisoners at high security prison have fashion sense; it was powerful seeing prisoners memorizing Shakespeare in their solitary cells; it was even more powerful seeing the prisoners return to their solitary cells after their beautiful performance.  Good stuff.
  • Sunday I saw “A Royal Affair” (Denmark), in which a young queen, marries an insane king, falls secretly in love with her physician – and together they start a revolution that changes a nation forever.  Random thoughts:  Beautiful people, those Danes; gloomy weather, that Denmark; beautiful dresses and corrupt government; sad story with hopeful ending, foreshadowed during a conversation about the purpose of working for change today when you may not live to see it, but realizing that we hope for a better world for the future.  I cried.
  • Tomorrow is May Day, a fun memory from childhood!  Doubt I’ll see any May Baskets on my door tomorrow, but if I do I’ll be home to chase the givers!  Day off!  Woot!  Gonna spend it cleaning madly and then get a haircut!  Maybe other fun stuff will be thrown in there, but although the weather may still threaten winter, I’m going to clean like it’s spring!
  • And tomorrow “Silver Linings Playbook” on DVD and ‘Helen the Second Wife” by Lian Dolan should arrive from amazon.com!  Yay!  Woot!

So that’s it for tonight … so much to be happy about.  

How about you?  

What’s making you happy??

What poem will you be reading in the wee hours before May brings new celebrations?  

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Of a Weekend…

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Ah… Days off with nothing firm scheduled are the best!  I went out with work colleagues for a late dinner, watched a niece play volleyball, drank coffee in the sunshine (a rare and welcome sight!), shopped and bought TWO pairs of shoes, got a pedicure, cuddled on my couch with my nephew and watched “Wreck It Ralph,” bought gifts for babies and birthdays, caught up on some TV watching, and watched “Gone With the Wind.”  And more days off tomorrow and Wednesday!

What’s Making Me Happy: 

Cover of "Gone with the Wind"

Cover of Gone with the Wind

  • I finished “Gone With the Wind” and am so glad I read it!  It is an epic novel, ‘The Great American Novel,” and it is really worth the read.  Watched the movie this weekend, in two sittings.  It is a magnificent movie, and at 4-hours it is merely a condensed version of the story.  It follows the story greatly, but the story is so much richer in the novel.  Ah, Scarlet.  Ah, Rhett.  Love them both!  After reading the Margaret Mitchell book, I really want to read the “sequels” that were written by others.  I didn’t expect that to happen!  
  • I am also excited that I finished that 960 page book so that I can finally move on to my TBR pile!  I’ve been listening to an audio for book club (“The Accidental Tourist” – slowest narrator EVER!), but I am excited to dive into some others.  Ah, books.  Good stuff.  
  • I still haven’t committed to my 3rd Quarter of 11 Things yet… but I will start that list here tonight, as almost 1/3 of that quarter is gone! Ha!
  • Everytime I get an update of the blog Des Hommes et des Chatons, I smile. Good stuff!  You MUST check it out!  Sexy men and kittens – how can it be anything but happy-making?  Go, NOW!

    hot men cats models poses

    http://deshommesetdeschatons.tumblr.com/
    CLICK IT! This is NOT a good example of the sexy!

  • THREE WEEKENDS IN A ROW OFF!  This weekend, next, and the weekend after!  Wowza!  I may get used to that!
  • The Rochester International Film Festival starts Friday night, so I’m looking forward to movies Saturday and Sunday – my weekend to work, but my “bye” weekend!  Woot!

This week has been filled with bad news and frustrating media… I’m thankful for friends who choose to share the good and to remain hopeful and positive.  It is easy to get sucked into it, for sure, but I do my best to “feed my head” with positive strategies and good news.

With that, here is my list of Things to look forward to or do in my April, May and June!

11 Things: 3rd Quarter: 

  1. Book Club – LOVE talking about books, whenever and wherever!  April 2 – with rum & Cokes, pizza burgers, and Mississippi Mud Cake!  Will schedule another before the end of May!
  2. Cosmo Girls – April brought green smoothies, chair massages, and henna!  May will bring A Cosmo Girl Party to celebrate another year of fun!
  3. A Spring Break facial – and pedicure!
  4. Baseball games and softball games – hopefully in sunshine!
  5. THE GREAT GATSBY movie!  Cannot wait!!! Maybe a party before? Group outing?
  6. Marissa’s graduation in May with a party to celebrate her Bachelor’s in Biology!  Taran’s graduation in June!
  7. Take Note! spring concert – most likely in June!
  8. New walking shoes – so hopefully many walks!
  9. Catch up on the TBR pile – as many as possible!  #1 Silver Linings Playbook!  
  10. June will bring Thursdays on First and Rochesterfest – outdoor food, music and fun!  And hopefully sunshine!  (Can you tell we’ve been without for too long?) 
  11. Strike up a conversation with a stranger (NOT a patient!) weekly (?) and WRITE about it!  Woot!  

Have anything you think I should replace with something?  What are you looking forward to in the upcoming spring months?

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What’s Making Me Happy 4/16/13

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Ah, a day off with little sleep.  Hopefully tonight I will sleep soundly, waking refreshed for a long work day!

But here’s what’s making me happy:

  • Getting through overnights at work is always good… another month until it happens again!  
  • I finished “Gone with the Wind” last night!  Woot!  It was a great book, unfortunately I didn’t have a lot of endurance with it, so I read it in shorter spurts than I would have liked.  But I can’t wait to discuss it with others who have read it and to revisit the movie.  So much to talk about!  Scarlett’s coping skill of “thinking of it tomorrow” is something I have employed… sometimes things are just so hard to face that you have to divert attention elsewhere and move forward with plans tomorrow.  It is spoken so often in the book… and it is the final sentence of the book:  “After all, tomorrow is another day.”  I’m so glad I read it.

    Gone with the Wind cover

    Gone with the Wind cover (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

  • Book club with the Preston gals was a lot of fun.  We read a great book (“We are all Welcome Here” by Elizabeth Berg) and had great food – rum and Cokes, pizza burgers, cheesy potatoes, and Mississippi Mud Cake.  Yummy!  Always good to see those women!
  • Met girls from work for dinner on a Friday night!  It was good to get together outside of work and to get to know them better.  Hopefully it’s something we can do again and again!  We celebrated having a Friday off before a weekend off!  Doesn’t always happen!  Maybe this Friday we will have a happy hour after we have supervision from 6-8pm!  🙂
  • I had a terrible cold during my weekend off, but enjoyed movies and reading… not a bad way to spend a weekend off!
  • Singing is always good… love the songs we’re singing in choir!  Some river songs, medley style (“Old Black Water,” “Swanee River,” “The Old Folks at Home,” “Mood River” and more!) and some Irish songs (yay!) and “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off.”  Love it.
  • Had some good days off last week before my weekend overnight work.  Good meals out, good cooking at home, good movie in the theatre (“Admissions”) and hanging out with Marissa.  Good stuff.
  • A great post-tax-day out with Beth today – delicious breakfast at Burdey’s in Peterson (cinnamon roll pancakes – so good!) followed by shopping and fro-yo!  Good stuff.

And coming up:

  • 3 days of work ahead and a weekend off.  No big plans (yet!), but just glad to have a Saturday, Sunday, Monday off!  
  • Hanging out with the kids a little as Dana and  Koni jet off to Vegas!  
  • Starting in on my pile of TBR books – #1 is The Silver Linings Playbook!  Yay!  DVD comes out 4/30, so that’s something I”m looking forward to! Also have 2 book club books going – “The Accidental Tourist” by Anne Tyler and “Sick Girl” by Amy Silverstein (for work).  Good stuff!  I’m listening to the audio of “The Accidental Tourist” and I think it’s read by the slowest narrator in the history of narrators.  Goodness.  But it’s a good book!
    The Accidental Tourist

    The Accidental Tourist (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

     

  • Planning a small graduation party for Marissa is fun… it sure is something to celebrate!
  • Have so many good shows to catch up on – so glad I still have my DVR!  I’ll catch up with them sometime – so no Mad Men or Smash spoilers!

What is making you happy this week?

What’s Making Me Happy (First of April 2013!)

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1st April 2013, Easter Monday, April Fool's Da...

1st April 2013, Easter Monday, April Fool’s Day P1710412 (Photo credit: tomylees)

Happy April!  Happy April Fool’s Day!

 

 

 

I’ve always loved the 1st of a new month and I feel great affinity with April 1st, as it’s my half birthday!
(Really, who celebrates such a thing? I guess I do! )  
April is kind of the yin to my yang or something.  

 

 

April is also National Poetry Month and Autism Awareness Month, among other wacky holidays (National Welding Month? International Guitar Month?). I’m always looking for a reason to celebrate, so websites like Holiday Insights  are great places to find inspiration.  (e.g. 3rd Thursday in April (4/18) = National High Five Day, April 23 = Take a Chance Day, April 30 = Hairstyle Appreciation Day.)

 

 

It’s been a great start to April, so I’ll start the month with a list of what’s been making me happy lately!

 

 

Movies States

The United States of Movies

  • This is a fun new poster I have added to my walls.  I haven’t seen all the films (haven’t even heard of some of them!  SLC Punks?  Who knew?) but maybe that will be a goal sometime!  If not, it’s fun to look at and think about and a conversation piece.  
vodka stroganoff beets vodka

Anna Karenina celebratory meal

  • Had a few Walkie Talkies over for dinner and a movie!  The movie was the new Anna Karenina and before the movie we had vodka, beef stroganoff, yummy bread and brie, and pickled beets.  After the meal we had vodka and white Russian cupcakes.  The movie was engrossing and fast-moving and fun to watch!  Very cleverly done!  I can’t wait to watch it again!  
Keep Calm Chivery

Keep Calm and…

  • I saw this as I was browsing in B&N and thought it was pretty hilarious!  Love the Keep Calm stuff.  Love this even more.  
Pedis with the girls pedicure pampering spa

Pedis with the girls

  • Any day off is a good day off.  A day off spent with friends and family is the best day off ever!  Lots of times other people have to work on my days off (and vice versa) so I’m happy that it’s spring break this week!  
  • Today I also went to Macy’s because I won a door prize that I signed up for last week!  So I have two full-sized bottles of some perfumes I’ve never heard of before!  Good times!
  • And also today my mom decided we would celebrate opening day of baseball season with hotdogs, potato salad and ice cream while watching the Twins on TV!  Good stuff.  Mom loves a theme, too!
Easter Chicks

Easter Chicks (Photo credit: Flying Pig Party Productions)

  • I worked on Easter weekend but enjoyed the time spent with my fellow “Easter chicks,” as we dubbed ourselves.  We had some cookies, which looked like these above, and lots of jelly beans.
  • I am over HALF WAY DONE with Gone with the Wind!  Yay me!  I am more than 500 pages into this book of about 960 pages.  Ah.  Still enjoying it and can’t wait to have another dinner and a movie night!
  • I’m looking forward to book club tomorrow night – gonna make Mississippi Mud cake to celebrate!  Also bringing little Cokes in glass bottles and someone else is bringing the rum (relevant to the book!).  Always a good time.
  • I’m looking forward to a WEEKEND OFF!  Friday, Saturday AND Sunday!  Woot!  No big plans and a 4 hour meeting for work on Saturday, but excited, nonethless!
  • I’m looking forward to making my list of 44 Things:Q3!  I haven’t started yet, but will work on it this week.

In honor of National Poetry Month, here is my favorite poem about April.  I’ve shared it on my blog in another April post (2011, I believe).  I memorized it in high school and it still comes to mind when I think of springtime and April.  I would LOVE to know your favorite poems!  Send them my way!  

 

 

APRIL by Marcia Masters
It’s lemonade, it’s lemonade, it’s daisy.
It’s a roller-skating, scissor-grinding day;
It’s gingham-waisted, chocolate flavored, lazy,
With the children flower-scattered at their play.

 

It’s the sun like watermelon,
And the sidewalks overlaid
With a glaze of yellow yellow
Like a jar of marmalade.

 

It’s the mower gently mowing,
And the stars like startled glass,
While the mower keeps on going
Through a waterfall of grass.

 

Then the rich magenta evening
Like a sauce upon the walk,
And the porches softly swinging
With a hammockful of talk.

 

It’s the hobo at the corner
With his lilac-sniffing gait,
And the shy departing thunder
Of the fast departing skate.

 

It’s lemonade, it’s lemonade, it’s April!
A water sprinkler, puddle winking time,
When a boy who peddles slowly, with a smile remote and holy,
Sells you April chocolate flavored for a dime.

 

 

 

 

 

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Sunday Snapshot 3/24/13

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A weird work schedule (really? it’s always weird!) has me feeling very Saturday-ish today, so I have to get in the Sunday mode!  Especially since I have to work early Monday morning!  Then a few days off before I work my very first holiday – Easter weekend.  I hope to make it to the interfaith service at the beautiful Chapel at St. Mary’s, at least for part of it.  Sunday morning can’t be that busy in the Emergency Department, right?

Anyway, not much to fill you in on except that I watched the movie The Sessions last night – and it was just so good!

The Sessions

The Sessions (Photo credit: Librari Kameleon)

It’s based on a true story about a man who is a journalist and a poet and lives most of his day in an iron lung.  He interviews people with disabilities about their sex lives and then wishes to lose his virginity.  It’s a nice story about this humorous and intelligent man, his relationship with his priest, his caregivers and the sex surrogate he hires after seeing a sex therapist.    It’s about love and life and poetry.  Good stuff!

Here’s a link to the article written by Mark O’Brien after his sex surrogate experience.  I haven’t read it all, but will!

Next in my DVD player is The Intouchables – a story about a person who becomes a quadriplegic after a paragliding accident.   He’s very wealthy and hires a man from the projects to be his caregiver, and boy do they have fun!  Living life to the fullest.  Good stuff!

Triple these movies with the book I just finished for book club – We Are All Welcome Here by Elizabeth Berg – and there’s a theme!  I love Elizabeth Berg books and this was no exception.  This book is about a woman who contracts polio late in her pregnancy and delivers a healthy baby while in an iron lung.  She remains paralyzed with full feeling in her body (like Mark O’Brien in The Sessions) and raises her daughter to be a strong independent woman.  It’s a fictional account of an actual person’s life (ala The Sessions, as well!).  Good stuff!

Good stuff that is coming up:

Hard boiled traditional Russian Easter eggs

Hard boiled traditional Russian Easter eggs (Photo credit: Steve White2008)

  • Planning an Anna Karenina viewing party with a few people (most of my fellow-walkietalkie peeps!) who love classical literature and may have started the book or intend to read the book sometime!  I’m the only one to have finished it.  🙂  We’re having beef stroganoff, pickled beets, white Russian cupcakes, and vodka (of course!)!  Love a good theme and in this early spring, Russian literature is a good one!
  • Some fun Aunt-related activities coming up this week, including a Seder dinner and a RockTown tour! And it’s a niece’s birthday today so my gift is a shopping trip, hopefully this week!
  • It will be weird to work on Easter weekend, but I try to remember that no one wants to be hospitalized on Easter, either, so I will do my best to be a blessing to those I see!
  • Book club on April 2 for We Are All Welcome Here – with a 60s feel!  Pizza burgers, potato chips, a classic dessert, Coke in bottles… good stuff!
  • Marissa got accepted into graduate school, so we will be exploring housing options in the Cities soon!  That is something fun to look forward to!
  • And I’ve gotta work on my list for 44 Things: Q3 as it is right around the corner!

But first, today I’m getting together with friend Beth to celebrate her birthday, which was on the first day of Spring!  Yay for friend time!

How about you?  What does your Sunday look like?  What are you looking forward to?

Happy Sunday, all!

What’s Making Me Happy 2/28/13

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Wow.  Last day of February.  Did that fly by, or was it just me?

I have a bunch of things that are making me happy, so here’s my list for you to read as February winds down…

  • Tomorrow is the start of “meteorological” spring!  It hasn’t been a horrible winter, but winter always makes spring sweeter!
  • The SocialICE downtown Rochester was a hit, once again!  It was the 4th year I’ve gone with the same crew and it is always a good time!  It wasn’t quite as cold as last year, but it still was a bit chilly!  The sculptures were fun to look at, the mulled wine was delicious to drink, and the night ended with karaoke at the Viking Lounge!  What a hoot.

    Keeping warm at SocialICE 2013!

    Keeping warm at SocialICE 2013!ice sculpturesIcy Skyscrapers

  • I had another long weekend (around President’s Day), and I got a haircut, went to the Med City Mafia roller derby, had a delicious Indian meal with Deadra and John before seeing “Book of Mormon” at the Orpheum (so fun!), sang in choir, and then went to book club (The Great Gatsby was discussed for at least 20 minutes, but we met for 4 hours!).  A great way to spend time off!
  • Following Col. Chris Hadfield on Facebook has been so fun.  Marissa tuned me in to a Reddit conversation with him and then I’ve been following.  He posts amazing things from the International Space Station.  Look him up!

    Astronaut Chris A. Hadfield Mission Specialist...

    Astronaut Chris A. Hadfield Mission Specialist Canadian Space Agency (CSA) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

  • Watching the Oscar’s was fun.  I had a multi-media empire going on – TweetDeck with #Oscars and #nproscars going, watching MonkeySee live blog the madness and messes, chatting on the phone with Beth prior to the big musical numbers, texting with NYC (who was on tape delay!) and watching the Oscar’s app in my iPad!  I mainly watched that when it was over, watching some of the big winners’ interviews and photo shoots off-stage.  I know there were a lot of people slamming the host and the music, but I’m an easy critic.  I loved the songs, even the throw-back to Chicago from 10 years ago.  And I know that the host is getting a lot of flack for the sexist tone he set with the song “I Saw Your Boobs,” but I thought it was pretty funny.  There was so much talk about formal wear boob coverage (or lack thereof) before the award shows, so it made me laugh.
  • Having an adult daughter is pretty awesome.  She turned 25 last Thursday, which makes ME feel old, but I wouldn’t change anything.  We have fun together and I can still keep up with her (most of the time).  I can even outlast her, some of the time.

    SocialICE 2013 with Marissa - a very coooool event.

    SocialICE 2013 with Marissa – a very coooool event.

  • Days off!  I worked overnights last week (and survived) and had some of the weekend off, which was filled with birthday celebrations.  DQ cake, BWW, GBB, and Wii.  Good stuff.  I also had a few days off this week (yesterday and today) and that has been great, too!  Just getting stuff done at home (laundry, sheets, taxes (!) and food preparation for the weekend), watching TV and relaxing with coffee, and then getting together with friends for lunch today and drinks last night.

    smash coffee

    Days off! Smash and coffee!

  • Turning Broadway show pins into magnets for my refrigerator!  I knew I would never wear the pins/buttons from Once when I bought them (it’s not the 80s anymore!), but nonetheless I had to have them.  When we saw Book of Mormon last week (or so) the seller of the things said she turned her pins/buttons into magnets.  How inspiring!  I’m so not crafty, but I found the magnets at Michaels and bought a tiny bottle of glue.  Job done!
    magnets refrigerator

    I Love Magnets! Magnets Galore!

    Magnets

    Up Close and Personal with My Magnets

  • I had my 1 year performance review at Mayo this week – and how refreshing!  It was positive and meaningful.  My supervisor gave great feedback, as did 3 of my colleagues.  It just feels so great to have such support, from a supervisor and colleagues.  Ah.
  • Talking about books always makes me happy!  Whether it is in the middle of the night with an ED Nurse, while walking laps at the Mall or Mayo High School, having lunch at Mr. Pizza or Whiskey Creek, or over drinks at Chester’s, good books always come up!  So now if only I could devote more of my time to reading books… I have so many piles of great books around me!  Must read on!
  • And speaking of books, I finished A Week in Winter – Maeve Binchy’s last book yesterday.  It was bittersweet and there were tears, not because of the content, but because there will be no more.  This morning Cindy asked me to inform her niece where to start in the Binchy back bibliography, so I made her a little list – and said that I’d probably blog about it later!  So look for that soon!

Phew!  February was a good ol’ happy month!  🙂

How about you – what’s making you happy?

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Snapshot of a Sunday

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What I’m Reading: I finished The Great Gatsby for book club next week.  I look forward to discussing it and eventually seeing the new movie this

84 Charing Cross Road (film)

84 Charing Cross Road (film) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

spring!  I have done some book ordering lately, so a bunch of new books arrived.  The first that I picked up and devoured was 84, Charing Cross Road.  Wow! I learned about it through the blogger Wallace who reads it for her birthday yearly.  It was so intriguing and only available in print (no virtual book this!). I’m so glad I bought it, because after I lend it to all my friends to devour, I will re-read it yearly!  It was tempting to re-read it immediately after finishing, but I will let it out of my grasp for a bit.  So unexpectedly fun!  I will now look for the movie based on the book!

Other books that I now own include: A Week in Winter (Maeve Binchy‘s final book), Apple of My Eye (same author as 84, Charing Cross Road but about NYC! Yay!), Silver Linings Playbook (hope it’s as good as the movie), and How to be a Woman (Caitlyn Moran – British comedian, cheap book!).  Gone with the Wind is waiting to be started, but I think it will wait until after I read Maeve’s book.  It’s only fair, right?  Gotta pay respects.  I learned that my 13 year old nephew is reading GWTW so there is further incentive to get started on it!

What I’m Watching: Last night I watched Beasts of the Southern Wild.  It is so fascinating.  I didn’t love it, but I was moved by it.  I am amazed by the community who lives in the Bathtub and I’ll have to do some research on that.  The little gal did a great job and will be fun to watch in the future!  I’m also excited to see the final episode of Downton Abbey.  I won’t see it tonight (as I’m going to the Book of Mormon!) but I’ll watch it as soon as I can.  Last week’s episode was great and feel-good.  Hoping for a good ending to this season!  Can’t think of anything else that I’ve watched lately… I also bought the (cheap) Blu-Ray DVD of Becoming Jane, which I remember liking a lot.  I’ll watch that along with the latest Pride and Prejudice movie sometime soon – maybe this week during my overnight-shift-self-care routine.

What I’m Doing: Last week I hosted a baby shower and it was a lot of fun.  Great to socialize with co-workers outside of work and fun to meet the mama-to-be’s mother and sister.  Good food, good times.  I took a few days off this weekend, so I shopped for shoes (ugh), had coffee with SDL, and had a slumber-party with VN; I watched littlest nephew play BB, ate taco pizza and watched Rochester Roller Derby with Marissa, Gracie and some friends.  And now I’m heading to the Cities (well in a little bit) to stay with Deadra and John and to have a delicious dinner before seeing the Book of Mormon!  Yay!  Can’t wait.  We’ve been looking forward to this for quite some time – anticipation of great events is always fun!  And I’ll still get to choir and book club this week – sounds perfect, eh?

That’s about it for me!  What are you Reading, Watching, and Doing?

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What’s Making Me Happy 2/9/13

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Feeling uninspired in the blogging area, so thought I’d pull out this old standby.  Can always find something to be happy about!

cropped-happiness-quotes-facebook-cover-18.jpg

 

  • Almost done reading “The Great Gatsby” for book club! I listened to the audio years ago and it’s amazing how little I remember, once again affirming that I remember feelings more than details when I listen to an audiobook.

  • The cover of the first edition of The Great Ga...

    The cover of the first edition of The Great Gatsby (1925) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

  • Watching the “Up” series – “Seven Up,” “7 Plus Seven,” “21 Up.”  More in my queue… fascinating look at a sampling of Brits who were 7 in 1964 and catching up with them every 7 years.  “56 Up” was just released, so I’m playing catch-up!

    Up Series

    Up Series (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

  • Work continues to be challenging and interesting.  Got to see the amount of my raise, so that was cool.  🙂
  • Gearing up for shutting down the cable after the Oscar’s!  I’m ready…
  • Cosmo Girls was a blast on Thursday – we created our own wood-fired pizzas and threw dough all around the restaurant, practicing!  There was trivia and prizes and many laughs.  Good times!
  • Excited to host a baby shower this week on Wednesday!  Will be fun to have a little social time with my co-workers.  We hardly ever all get to do things like this, but I think it will work!
  • Excited to make “winning hearts and minds” cake for the shower – it is just amazing and so simple! It’s the wedding cake from a favorite book, “A Homemade Life.”
  • Looking forward to another chunk of time off coming up next week – what should we do??
  • Seeing “Book of Mormon” with Deadra and John next weekend – can’t wait!

Life is good!

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What’s Making Me Happy This Week 1/30/13

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happy scrabble

It’s been a few weeks… let’s see…

  • Last week, two movies in the theatre – both great and worth seeing!  “The Impossible” with Marissa with Wehrenberg free popcorn Wednesdays and “Silver Linings Playbook” with Deadra with matinee junkies in the suburbs!  I can’t wait to see “Silver Linings Playbook” AGAIN.  I can’t wait to buy it!
  • Braving the ice to have a Walkie Talkie and HuHot at the mall!
  • Quiet and relaxing days away from work – maybe I’m getting my reading-groove back!
  • Foursquare chats with Troy – love that I’m his only follower!  Love living vicariously through him – and can’t wait to get back to NYC to get some check-ins with him!
  • Good food, good wine, good movies and good chats with Deadra during her recovery from foot surgery last week – with some great Just Dance moves, as well!
  • January has felt sort of “normal” – not super-booked, so I’m getting things done at home and I’m reading and I’m enjoying it!
  • Pride & Prejudice turned 200 this week!  Isn’t that amazing!
  • Going to Rushford and having choir cancelled – just a night on the couch with Mom and Marissa!

Looking forward to:

  • Hosting a Fiesta Baby Shower in a few weeks!
  • Going to work tonight (10:30PM) for my first day of Year Two at Mayo! Woot!
  • Groundhog’s Day – always a fun, obscure little holiday!
  • SocialICE is coming up soon!  Looking forward to listening to music and enjoying the Minnesota winter with beverages!
  • Finishing the BBC version of Pride & Prejudice… it’s just so good. I find myself smiling while watching it.
  • Starting “Gone with the Wind” and “The Great Gatsby” – hoping for good reading groove in February!
  • Gave Koni “Pride & Prejudice” to read – I will have to prod her along so we can talk about it!

I know there’s more, but that’s all for tonight!   Right now I’m happy that I will soon go find a drive-thru for one more cup of coffee to get me through the night! Have to recover quickly to work the weekend, so wish me luck!

What’s making you happy?

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What’s Making Me Happy This Week 1/9/13

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Joy! NYC New York City

Joy Joy Joy!

I hope that I will remember to post about the Things Making Me Happy at least every other week… it’s been a few weeks (busy weeks) since I last wrote about this, but it’s such a good thing to focus on that I hope I will make it a habit!

  • Days off!  I had a great Christmas and New Year‘s with family and although I worked last weekend, it has been bracketed by wonderful days off!  I’ve been productive and relaxed; reading, entertaining, singing, watching movies, with just a little cleaning and organizing.  Good stuff.  
  • My Blu-Ray player for Christmas is so exciting… so easy and smart to use.  Just a breeze.
  • Reading Jane Austen is always so relaxing. I’m reading “Persuasion” as a readalong and although it isn’t living up to “Pride and Prejudice” level of love from me, it is still enjoyable to read.  I’m wondering if Jane Austen is NOT meant to be read on an electronic device, though. That has been a struggle.  
  • I spilled a big old glass of water on my stove top a few weeks ago, which prompted a deep clean under the stove.  Felt kinda good!
  • Taco Soup – Wow!  Mom made this and it was so delicious, and then I whipped it up at Dana and Koni’s last night and it was so easy!  The best flavor  and a fast feast!  Ingredients: 1 can black beans, 1 can pinto beans (both drained and rinsed), 1 can petite diced tomatoes, 1 can sweet corn (both drained), 1 can white chicken breast, drained, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1 can green enchilada sauce, 1 can chicken broth, 1 packet taco seasoning. Mix, heat, serve.  Excellent with tortilla chips!  Yummy!
  • The game Telestrations brought us many laughs on New Year’s Eve – what a fun family group game!
  • A mild sunshiny day today is certainly making me happy!
  • Looking forward to the weekend off – with nothing planned feels pretty great!
  • I love having my Christmas tree up – to think I almost didn’t do it this year! – but it does feel good to put it away.  I really don’t have many seasonal decorations aside from Christmas – maybe I need to add that to one of my lists… Mix it up a little.
  • Reflecting on 2012 has been such a Joy (see above pic!).  I continue to feel grateful for the people in my life and the adventures that they bring. 

I feel like I could go on and on, which is a good thing, but I’d better move on and get some more stuff done!  Enjoying the day!

What’s making you happy this week??

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Joy Joy Joy!

Joy Joy Joy!

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