Day 3: Living YOUR life (Dyer)

Each chapter has a set of questions to answer to measure your capacity to live in the moment.  Answer the questions for yourself.  Wayne will dive into changing our thoughts to answering 'yes' to all of these questions.  My answers are in purple. 

Chapter 1:
Do you believe that your mind is your own? Yes but it's very much influenced by others. If my sister doesn't like a shirt I'm wearing then I will feel uncomfortable wearing it or if Nate wants to eat at a different restaurant because he doesn't like the one we are at I will not have as good of a time.

Are you capable of controlling your own feelings? NO! And yes. It depends on the situation and how reactive I am to it. I want to be!  If I feel a personal attack then my pride kicks in and I feel I need to defend myself.  Darn pride!  For example, Nate made a comment about his dislike of television shows preying on woman by catering to their emotions.  We were watching The Biggest Loser and the contestants traveled home to see their families after weeks of being away.  Everyone was crying and hugging.  Nate didn't see the relevance nor the need for the excessive filming of this in relation to the show.  Personally, I don't mind this emotional connection between friends and family, probably because I AM a woman.  I took this as if he was saying that as a woman I was a sucker for liking certain tv shows that prey on woman (or that I am weak because I am a woman).  I took it personally and got mad; my emotions felt uncontrollable.  If it's a situation I've experienced before I am more in control of my feelings because I feel I am able to predict the outcome.  Such as a deadline at work.  I've been through the stressfulness of it before so it's less stressful as the first few times.  I know the outcome already; try your best and don't get stressed.

Are you motivated by your potential for growth, rather than a need to repair your deficiencies? I say I am motivated by my potential and a lot of Pure Qualities (my self-help website) is about reaching our potential by practicing certain qualities in our daily life.  I believe in being motivated by the potential for growth.  On the other hand I really want to repair my deficiencies because I feel that they are bad.

A poem:
I want to travel as far as I can go,
I want to reach the joy that's in my soul,
And change the limitations that I know,
And feel my mind and spirit grow;

I want to live, exist, "to be,"
And hear the truths inside of me.

Day 2: Living in the moment (Dyer)

     Wayne Dyer cleverly names the title of his book, Your Erroneous Zones, but what is his definition of it?  Erroneous zones are self-defeating behaviors; they are efforts at living in a moment other than the current one.  I have heard many self-help guru's discuss living in the moment.  They say it's the key to living your life to the fullest, stress and worry free because you are not consumed with problems of the past nor worries of the future.  In this moment, there are no worries because the past has already happened and the future hasn't. 



     Last week I went on a cruise to the Western Caribbean.  On a cave tubing/zip lining excursion there was a mishap between the group and my mom and me.  We went cave tubing first before zip lining.  We were told we would have time to change into dry clothes and use the restroom.  The guide was running behind schedule and skipped this important part.  My mom and I needed to use the restroom so we ran back.  The rest of the group went onto the zip lining.  When we returned they were upset with us because we were holding the group up.  We figured they would go on without us, they didn't.  Everyone was upset with us. We were also upset because we needed to use the bathroom before another 2 hour excursion.  We were only 5 minutes behind them.  We thought it would be fine but it wasn't.

     After the zip lining, I had an icky feeling inside.  I don't like it when people are upset, especially when I don't think they understand the situation.  I remembered the many teachings of being in the moment and not consumed with past thoughts or feelings and I began to focus on the moment.  I would say, "focus on this moment.  Now, this moment.  Now, this moment."  I think you get the picture.  My feelings of ickyness went away.  This moment is fine.  I'm good.  It's the past thoughts that were making me feel unsettled and icky. You may be thinking that's great but you can't just ignore the past. That's true. I did give the situation ample thought.  I talked it out with Nate.  Then, I stayed in the moment not giving the situation much thought anymore.  This improved my state of mind tremendously instead of dwelling on the past or past guilt. This is
what Wayne is talking about. Love it!

Day 1: Wayne Dyer Your Erroneous Zones

     I just got back from a week long cruise with my mom, sister, boyfriend and friends.  It was a ton of fun although there were a few stressful times when we were trying to coordinate what to do.  Some of us had different ideas on what would be fun (ie. beach, shopping, tours); which caused some tension in our group.  In the past I would get really upset and say things I would regret.  This time I was a lot more tame; a breakthrough!  I could actually see a difference in the way I handled the stressful situations from times past.  I was more calm and patient.  The best part was that there were less hurtful words I needed to apologize for.  This time, because my character was better, I didn't have as many regrets in my actions and had a better vacation.  I wasn't perfect but better.  I am proud of that.

     I have worked on myself a lot since my last vacation to this one.  I realized I can only be as patient, forgiving, humble, trusting with others as much as I am patient, forgiving, humble, trusting with myself.  This was an epiphany to me because it is the basis for this self-help guru project.  I am interested in learning more so I can be more for others but it starts with myself (makes sense but still an epiphany for me!)  If I don't know how to change a flat tire then I won't be able to teach it to anyone.  If I don't know how to be patient with myself than I cannot be patient with others.  I can only be what I am to myself.

     I am hoping, as I learn these self-help guru techniques that I will be able to work on myself which will spill over into all my relationships in a positive, beneficial way.  My relationships can only be as good as my relationship is with myself.  Looking forward to the next vacation when I can see even more of a difference.  Plus, laying on the beach for a week, eating great food and not working is always something to look forward to!

Your Erroneous Zones by Wayne Dyer starts today!  I will write more tomorrow.

Charissa

Day 28: Reflection

     Made it through the first book!  The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin had great tips to create more happy situations and circumstances in life.  Some of my favorites are the "one-minute rule," fight right, bring people together, spend out, and meditation.  Am I happier?  I am happier because everyday I tried new things and created deeper relationships.  I've also had some great conversations about self-help books and ideas since starting this project.  I enjoy learning and growing.  These things bring me happiness.  Gretchen says that people desire to grow; we are happy whether it's difficult or easy growth. 

     The second self-help guru will be Wayne Dyer.  He is said to be the father of motivation.  He is 69 years old and claims to be in tip top shape because he doesn't allow sickness into his body. He speaks of inner peace and living the life we are meant to live on this Earth.   The first book of his was written in 1976, Your Erroneous Zones, is said to have "brought humanist ideas to the masses."  Then I will read his latest book written this year, 2010, The Shift.  I'm interested to see what differences there are in his ideals over these 34 years.  I'm sure he has grown a lot too since he first wrote Your Erroneous Zones.  I will read the first book in the first two weeks then the second book the second week and blog about it my daily experiences and finding.  I will start when I return from vacation, 3/29.  Thank you for reading!

Day 27: Meditate

I am becoming a fast believer in meditation. They say there is an intuitive voice inside all of us.  This voice can tell us exactly what we are feeling and why...if we listen.  This whole week I have had nervous butterflies.  I lived with them for about 2 days until I had the brilliant idea to meditate and ask my intuitive voice what the heck is going on.  Well it turned out that on the surface I was nervous about two presentations I had to give in the following week but mostly I was bothered by my relationship with Nate.  I went into my bedroom, turned the light off, sat Indian style and asked myself, "Why do I have butterflies?"  My intuitive voice said, "Because you feel not as loved by Nate as you usually do and this bothers you."  You see, he's been very busy with work and I have been busy getting ready for our cruise next week so we haven't connected like we usually do.  Well, this was an epiphany because what I thought was the cause of my butterflies was actually a much deeper issue.  Once I knew what the issue was then I felt better, just knowing.  This way I could attempt to remedy the issue by giving more love to Nate or filling the hole with my own love or even with the love of family or friends.  I believe in mediation for the health of the mind, body and spirit.  They are all connected after all.  The mind amazes me with all it's power; intuitively, physically, and spiritually.  Mediation is the key to being connected to this other part of me that already knows what is going on.  I just have to stop and listen.

Day 26: Stimulate the mind in new ways

     I bought an US Weekly magazine but that didn't seem to stimulate much.  I didn't even know most of those people in there, very depressing.  When did I become so out of touch with the fashion world.  Okay let's be honest I've never really been in touch with that world.  My sister has always tried to get me to dress more hip but I just don't get the big belts and flashy colors.  I guess I am a true engi-nerd at heart.  Any suggestions on ways to stimulate the mind?

I don't have much to write today but it is St. Patty's day so in honor of that I will go and drink some green beer.  Happy St. Patty's day everyone!

Day 25: Learn a new technology

     Most of you know that I have a self-help tool called Pure Qualities.  It's a tool to help build your character, be a better person and to be happier.  It teaches about giving love, receiving love and being loving.  The gist is that you practice certain qualities in your daily life to build the quality of your life.  One of the qualities is truth.   You practice truth daily to improve the quality of your life.  People appreciate it when you are truthful to them and most likely you appreciate it when others are truthful with you.  We all lie.  If we were all more truthful we could know each other better and deal better with each other.  If I know that my boyfriend loves it when I cook dinner for him then I can make the choice to do that.  If he never tells me or lies and says that he doesn't care if I cook dinner, because he doesn't want me to feel burdened, then I may not cook dinner as much as he would like.  This could be a strain on the relationship but how would I know?  Other qualities include patience, trust, forgiveness and love.  We all have these qualities in our character to an extent but there is room for growth in these areas.  In order to practice each quality I created wallet-size cards that you carry with you in your pocket and read throughout the day to practice.  I have seen a change in myself since I started the program and I am grateful.

  Pure Qualities used to have a Christian background but I am in the process of creating the PQ cards to be non-Christian!  They are for anyone who wants to improve themselves in an easy, fun and effective way.  I also have an online portion of the program that guides you through each quality.  It includes 2 emails per week.  This is where the "learn a new technology" comes into play.  I have been using Yahoo mail but I have just learned how to use a fancy template instead for the online program.  I am very happy about this because it will look more professional and updated.

Day 24: Make time for passion

All weekend long I explored my passions!  I had a blast.  I think taking the time to know what your passions are and to do them is vital to happiness.  I went skiing and did a double black diamond (expert).  I have always just done blues (intermediate).  Then, I went dancing that night.  On Sunday, I spent the day with my mom and sister for my mom's birthday.  We went shopping at the mall and talked a lot.  That evening, instead of watching tv, I got my magazines out.  I enjoy Popular Science since it talks about inventions that are already in the production phase but may or may not be released yet to the public.  Very cool! 

I would say this weekend was packed with lot's of my passions and I am smiling just thinking about them; skiing, spending time with family, dancing, shopping, and technology.

Day 23: Imitate a spiritual master

I decided to imitate Jesus.  I'm not sure how this man had time to take care of everything with love.  Plus, being at work, I figured whenever a request came in I needed to go the extra mile (as Jesus would do).  When an explanation of a feature needed to be explained I gathered all the information; in order to be thorough I collected emails, talked to a few people and went to a meeting.  This is something I normally would do but less extensive, say a shorter email; less thorough.  While collecting my data I had to stop and talk to every single person who wanted to talk to me because that is the kind thing to do.  Usually, I bolt through the hall ways making sure people know I'm busy working.  I didn't even get time to go to the bathroom until lunch time.  Jesus, you had a busy life trying to go the extra mile, love everyone in the process and complete all your work at the same time.  Nice job!

Day 22: Read a Memoir

Reading and learning about other people's lives is very important. Here is a memoir:


I was 15 years old and headed down a tough and dangerous path. Earlier that year I met an older man, 19, named Jaymie, on 4th of July while tripping on acid. LSD was not the only drug I had been doing. Since I was 13 years old I picked up smoking, drinking, pot, mushrooms, crystal meth and my favorite, huffing paint. I had been in a detox facility, which didn’t cease my drug abuse, stole my parent’s cars a few times, missed 45 days of 8th grade before dropping out completely and having sex. I was living with my father at the time, he was a good, loving father but with no real boundaries. I was allowed to do whatever I wanted, so I did. Of course I put up an innocent front, but I’m sure on some level he knew but was in denial about it.

Back to the story, when I met Jaymie, little did I know this was a defining moment in my life. We developed a “relationship.” He would sneak into my room and sleep over without my father knowing. Told me he loved me, when he knew it was time to say it. He lifted me up and he always disappointed me. It was an abusive cycle, a brainwashing of a young impressionable girl.

Let’s skip the details and get to the good part. After a “whimsical romance” we ran away to Las Vegas to live happily ever after. This was 2 days after I had an abortion with his child. Since I was not old enough, he rented an apartment for us under his alias name. Two days later, early in the morning, a loud bang on our door: “Open up it’s the FBI.” I had no idea what was going on. As soon as I could breathe, there were 2 FBI agents and 2 police men in the apartment. My boyfriend was arrested, put into jail and I was brought to a juvenile holding cell while my parents were contacted to get me back home to Colorado. Unknown at the time, my first love was a criminal.

Phone calls, phone calls…While he was in jail, I waited by the phone to talk to him at $2.25 for 15 minutes for 3-4 hours a night. I dropped out of junior high school and got a job telemarketing so I could pay for the phone bills ($600/month). This went on for a few months until…

Sirens blaring, heart screaming, mind racing…September 24, 1997. At 3 a.m. I sneak out of my father’s house and steal his car. I put on my best clothes and my best face…today’s the day for a prison break. 6 a.m. I drive up to where we plan to meet. Two seconds later he has jumped in the back seat of the car and we are off and racing. Ten minutes later sirens are blaring behind me. He tells me to pull over; the police car behind with sirens blaring might not be for us (really?) One minute later, a police officer steps out with a rifle gun pointed at us. Jaymie tells me to step on the gas. Dust and dirt fly into the police officer’s face as we speed off on the curvy, mountain road. Screaming and praying, “Why God? Please save us!” as I accelerate at 70 mph in a 45 mph zone, swerving into the other lane when I needed to pass a car on the one lane road, not knowing if another car would be coming the opposite direction (my biggest regret and biggest thanks that there wasn’t anyone coming the other way). Two hours later, after a high-speed chase of dangerous, life threatening proportions, we crashed. Airborne, a double roll-over, he pulls me out of the car and runs for his life as the police men chase him and arrest him.

Waking up…I’m in the ambulance all I can think about is if he is ok. My parents show up over my bed, crying, scared, and praying. I am sent to a juvenile jail. I am taken out of my dad’s custody and into my mom’s, otherwise it was foster care. She fought for me in the court so I wouldn’t be taken to a foster care facility. She was living in a large house with my new stepfather and promised to take full responsibility for me. I enrolled back into high school with an ankle monitor. My life changed, flipped, in a blink of an eye.

Now, the good part, because I was being watched by the law I did what was expected of me. I knew I had done something horrible and I felt so sorry for putting my parents through what I had. I know I couldn’t have saved myself from the path I was on; it took structure, discipline and the consequences given to me. Deep down I knew the right thing to do and I had the potential inside of me to be a good citizen and daughter. Thankfully, the judicial system saw that within me too. They said that I was brain washed and manipulated by an older man. My mother enrolled me back into school and I received straight A’s in high school; went to counseling to un-brainwash myself; did 100 hours of community service and got off of probation one year early for good behavior. After high school, I went to CSU and received a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering. I am 28 years old and have a successful career. The man that I was with stayed in prison for escape and his other charges for a full twelve years.

He recently was released in December 2008. With the people connecting capabilities of the Internet I used My Space to find him. Yes, the child inside of me needed to know the answers to my questions I’ve had all of these years. I wanted to know why he did the things he did. I wanted to know if he knew how manipulative and wrong he was when he asked me to do those things for him. I was so curious to see him and find out, after all my love for him was real. I didn’t feel like he was a danger to me or at least I didn’t want to think that he was because of the burning inside of me, needing to know what happened all those years ago. I found out he was on probation in Wyoming, a short 2 hour drive for me, so I made my way, thinking about the life I shared so long ago with this man. It was the strangest thing when I saw him. I didn’t need any confirmation of his feelings for me during that long ago time. I didn’t need any answers from him. I was already healed. My little child was fine. We talked for a little while, I left and that was that.

The interesting part is that he was very apologetic for asking me to help him escape, for having me hide him in my room, and for having me run away with him. Yes, he said he was sorry for manipulating me into helping him and deceiving me into loving him. His actions said otherwise. Once he knew my contact information he tried desperately to pick up where we left off. When I refused he tried to manipulate me with words, saying that I was not making decisions for myself and that he was a good person. Thankfully, I had grown up, matured and I didn’t fall prey. After many refusal’s he has stopped trying to contact me. I am healed and I am stronger. His needs are his problems and they are not mine to take on.

The past 12 years for me have been a journey of finding myself, building my self-esteem and trusting in God. I am who I am because of my past and I wouldn’t want to change that. Every step in life teaches us what we need to be taught. When we realize our growth it is beautiful and inspiring. I have witnessed my growth and am excited to share it with other girls who may be going through a difficult time.

Through all of this I have learned we all need second chances and we all have the ability to change. I forgive him for his part and I forgive myself for mine. This is a story of a young girl influenced and manipulated by an older man and tangled up with drug use. I believe a lot of young girls experience something of this manner in their life without anyone to turn to. Thankfully, I had my faith to turn to in my most desperate and darkest hour. Thankfully, I had the unconditional love of my family during this critical time. Thankfully, I had the justice system in its finest hour, fighting for me.

As a young girl, manipulated and deceived, I had skeletons in my closet for future relationships. I was unable to trust and unstable inside. I turned to my faith to discover how I could defeat this way of thinking. I discovered the unbeatable power of the Spirit. I decided to practice and know certain qualities of the Spirit, such as love, trust, truth and forgiveness. I am becoming who I want to be; stable, happy, and most importantly I have some inner peace. I created a tool to practice these qualities. Please visit www.PureQualities.com. My passion and desire is to help anyone by offering a tool to elevate their self-esteem and find peace in their life.

We all have a unique story it's what we do with it that matters.

Day 21: Give Something Up

There are many things that I could give up.  I could give up facials, massages, expensive face products, make up, hair dyed but I don't want to!  I appreciate all the things that I spend money on for myself.  Maybe that's the happiness lesson; to appreciate what is purchased with my hard earned money!  Since I've gone through my saving phase to pay off credit card debt I have cut out other unnecessary things such as Starbucks; I get my hair done every 8 weeks instead of 6; I buy less clothes; get Coor's light instead of wine at dinner.

Emotionally, I could give up the idea that I need to be liked and accepted by everyone.  By having this need I sacrifice myself for the sake of being liked.  An example would be when I'm out with my friends and I "need" to make sure everyone is happy.  Does so and so have a drink?  Are they enjoying themselves?  Do I need to think of an interesting topic so the conversation stays fun and fresh?  These are all the thoughts I have because I feel responsible for everyone's fun.  In the end, everyone has fun (I think) and I feel exhausted.  I have even blown up at Nate because I am so exhausted at the end of a night.  I could also give up the thought that I need to be perfect.  I am human and I make mistakes.  There, it's out in the open...don't hate me.

Day 20: Spend Out

After 8 months and $11,000 on my credit cards, I am credit card debt free!  I started the Dave Ramsey program to help me do this.  It feels so great to not have credit card debt anymore.  Gretchen Rubin's idea of spending out is genius.  I have so many extra lotions, make up, clothes, food that I could be using before buying more.  There is a small high when buying new things no doubt but I think there is more of a high saving my money and using up what I have already purchased.

Furthermore, I started to think about "spending out" on a more emotional level.  I usually put a lot of energy into my attitude and appearance to others (at work, with friends, at home).  I believe in being positive, lifting other people, smiling and laughing.  This takes a lot of energy though.  It feels good and is genuine but when I don't smile, people will stop to ask me if I'm ok.  I think it's starting to ware on me because today I snapped at a co-worker after he approached me.  I said, "I don't always have to smile!"  I think I was spent out; spent out emotionally.  I think he was only trying to put a smile on my face.  It frustrates me though, because I feel like I'm not allowed to be spent out on my energy.  When can I feed off of someone's energy to make me happy.  What if I spend out on all the energy and smiles I have put out and receive instead from other people?  This is a tall order because I'm so dependent on other people liking me because of my energy.   Plus, when I'm not energetic it's not as much fun, honestly.  Sometimes, though, I'm emotionally spent out and just need to chill with a smile in my heart just not on my face.

Day 19: Bring people together

This is my favorite thing to do.  I love organizing outings with friends and family to a show, dinner, drinks, bowling, skiing, hiking, movies etc.  I believe there is much value in spending time together with the people that make us happy.  We all have busy lives so when we do get together we get to take a break and enjoy each other.  When I get together with friends and family I know I will laugh, chat, enjoy a new or fun experience together.

Last night I gathered my mom, boyfriend, his mom and boyfriend, our friend Anthony and myself for an outing to see the musical Mary Poppins.  It wasn't the best musical I've ever seen but I will always remember the fun feeling I had at dinner beforehand and the company during the show.  It's just a good happy feeling.  One that I want to keep repeating (not Mary Poppins but the feeling).

It does take time and research to put these gatherings together and I do a lot of that but I know it's worth it.  Building relationships takes time and shared experiences.  I value that for my own happiness.

Day 18: No gossip

     Alright, I have to admit I've done my fair share of gossiping...it's so embarrassing to admit. 

     The definition of gossip according to wisegeek.com:   In general, gossip involves the creation and repetition of rumors regarding an individual who is not present to offer his or her perspective on the purported events under discussion. Generally, gossip has little or no basis in fact and is sometimes intended to convey a negative image of an individual.  

I would like to give a personal example of a time when I have gossiped but then that would be gossip so I will refrain.  LOL. 

     I always feel super bad after I gossip about someone else.  I admit I have gossiped but not about everyone and not very much.  It's usually when somebody is doing something that I don't like then I will talk about it with someone else.  If I do gossip it's usually to Nate.  Even Gretchen talks about this; that it's easy to do with your spouse/partner because it seems okay because you can trust that it won't be repeated (but how do you really know?).  Plus, that's the whole bad thing about gossip is that you don't want it to be repeated back to the person it's about, that just doesn't sound kosher.  To me, I still feel bad afterward.  I dislike talking bad about other people.  Hello!  I am just like every other human...I have my own faults.  Why should I magnify, what I believe to be somebody's faults to others?  We are all learning and growing everyday.  I think I've just proven to myself that I don't see the point in gossiping.   I'm hoping this will be an easy one to nip in the bud once and for all.

Day 17: Start a happiness box

I love this idea of starting a happiness box.  I've cleaned out so much clutter since I've started this "happiness project" and I have a few things left over that I didn't want to throw away.  It makes sense now because they are the things that make me think of happy times in the past.  I think having a place to keep some treasured things is a good idea because I can look at them whenever I need a smile.
Some things in my happiness box:

•  A few special pictures - my dad and me when I was 10, mom/sis/me all dressed up, Nate/me drinking margs at the Rio.
• The first two months of my calendar when Nate and I first started dating.  Our first date at a wine bar.  Our second date we went to a Nuggets game.  Third date spent all day walking around, drinking and talking in downtown Denver one Sunday.    You get the idea...it's nice to remember.
• A pack of cards I made when I was 12 years old with positive affirmations; "You are beautiful."; "Smile.", "Life is what you make it."...you know things that a 12 year old wants to be reminded of so they write down those things on cards.  LOL! 

Side note about fighting right:
So far I have been reminded to fight right!  Whenever Nate and I begin to "get into it" I am reminded to fight right.  I always want to say 'always' or 'never' but I've stopped myself.  It feels so much better the next day knowing that I fought right.  I'm seeing that by dealing with the issue at hand is better because the next day I don't have to apologize for things I regretted saying.  Instead I just have to apologize about the actual fight and not all the harsh words that would have been said if I had said them...make sense?

Day 16: Create a blank book

Do you have memoribilia that you have saved somewhere in a junk drawer or tucked away in a file in the closet?  I do!  I have Nate's and my first Nuggets game tickets, our first putt-putt golf score card, a chinese fortune.  In The Happiness Project book, Gretchen used to make books called blank books when she was a child.  It's something she enjoyed during her free time.  Usually what we do during our free time is a good indicator of what gives us pleasure.  The books were filled with anything that really caught her eye; picture in a magazine, a quote, a memory.  She would spend hours cutting and pasting and creating her blank books.  Sound like fun?

It was fun starting my blank book.  It made me happy looking back on memoribilia I had saved.  Plus, I now have a place to put this stuff so it cleared the area I was storing it and now it's in the blank book.  I just used a 3 ring notebook, nothing fancy.

Here are some pics from my blank book:

Extra: In my Self magazine they have a list of thing that make people happy:  Exercise, eat healthy, good self-image (regardless of size), appreciate your flaws, good sex, notice your small accomplishments, good advice!

Day 15: Sing in the Morning

     I am horrible at knowing any lyrics to any song.  I mean I mess up easy songs like, "Oh what a beautiful morning.  Oh what a beautiful day.  Nothing is going my way."  What are the real words?  I need easy songs like, "Row, row, row your boat".  This morning, when I started singing Destiny's Child's, "Happy Face" song (check out this song), I decided to hum it instead.  After realizing that it didn't sound that great (and I could only remember a few lyrics) I started humming it.  I still wasn't satisfied with my attempt at singing in the morning and then I knew what I needed to do:  Christmas songs!  Who can go wrong with good ol' Jingle Bells?!?  And it worked, after singing Jingle Bells this morning, I felt happier.  It was fun to be reminded of Christmas time.  Only Nate heard me sing Jingle Bells (and all the other singing attempts) and he didn't complain!  Possibly because he was still sleeping (or trying to) or he was enjoying Jingle Bells just as much as me? 

My gift to you for the day: "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.  Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh, hey!"

Resolution to be a storehouse of happy memories (pic of the day):  Our dog, Abby, chilling out while we renovate the attic into a room at the cabin.

Day 14: Be a storehouse of happy memories

I love this idea. Why not add happy pictures around the house and on your desk at work? I've had the same pictures on my desk for 2 years now and whenever I look at them they remind me of happy and fun times I've experienced. This makes me happy. I'm updating my pictures on my desk and in my home today! I picked out a few fun ones of when I went skiing last weekend in Vail and the construction for Nate's cabin.

Facebook is an awesome place to store happy memories and you can share them with your friends. I love checking out my friends most recent pics. It makes me happy to see them happy. I also love to give pictures in a nice frame as gifts. It seems you can't go wrong with a great picture of your friend and her boyfriend eating ice cream on that cold winter day (a normal thing in Colorado but still crazy)!

I think taking pictures is a great way to remember happy moments. I know I am always grateful when I see old pictures that I took because I decided to take my camera along for the ride. Gretchen begins to carry her camera everyday, everywhere and so will I. Stay tuned for more pics...Nate and myself in Keystone.