Card Sketch #42...

...from '2S4Y', AKA 2 Sketches 4 You - a fun card sketch site that I stumbled across while on one of my daily blog hopping excursions. Here is the sketch as seen on the site:
















And here is my pretty literal interpretation x 2:



I love this sketch! It's quick, simple, and great for any occasion. I'm getting more and more interested in using sketches - for card making and for scrapbooking. There are a whole lot of great sketches and examples over at 2S4Y - go check them out!

Christmas Is For Caring...

This morning, Casey was telling me about a creative writing assignment that he had to do at school where he was to use the letters in 'Christmas' to write a word for each to describe Christmas. Casey told me in his earnest, almost solemn, way that he chose 'Care' for 'C' because "Christmas isn't just about the presents, it's about the care".

It is satisfying to me as a mother to know that my child understands the deeper, more important messages of the Christmas season. It is no surprise to me that not only does Casey know it, but he takes it very seriously as well. Casey is such a light in my life!

On The First Day of Christmas...

The Inspired Scrapper is kicking off a crafty 12 Days of Christmas - I created this cute set of marble magnets for my even cuter cousin, which I also shared at The Inspired Scrapper. Head on over there every day from now until Christmas for the Design Team's scrappy inspiration and eye candy!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

Happy Friday! TGIF!! Every Friday over at The Inspired Scrapper a new challege/project gets posted. Today it was 'Christmas Cards', and it was my debut assignment as one of the Design Team members. It still thrills me to call myself that! Go have a look! So much Christmas eye candy!

For Today - Thursday, December 10, 2009

Outside my window...ideal conditions for - I don't want to say it, so I'm going to spell it - S-N-O-W!!! After careful consideration, I vote 'Nay!' - but don't tell my kids that!!

I am thinking...and thinking and thinking...I don't know when I'm going to be able to quiet my brain so that I can go to sleep...

I am thankful...for modern medicine, and for Tylenol 3's. Farewell, gallbladder!! See you again...NEVER!

From the kitchen...nothing to brag about lately. Still planning on a Christmas cookie bakefest, but...nothin' says lovin' from the oven like last-minute concotions!!!

I am wearing...a crazy mix of sloppy old cotton stuff.

I am reading...blogs. Lots and lots of blogs. I'm loving the blogs!!!

I am hoping...that my sister and her gorgeous kids and hubby make it up here for Christmas!!

I am going...to be faced with my fear of flying sometime this spring, rumour has it...

I am creating...Christmas projects for the Inspired Scrapper.

I am hearing...digital music channel 431 - Baroque! Love it!

Around the house....lots of outside stuff inside. Like, the sand table, roller blades, hockey sticks, baseball equipment...sporty toys for active boys! Active boys who are always going full speed no matter whether they are in the great outdoors, or in the dining room...

One of my favorite things...My big, fluffy, most-excellent-shade-of-blue blanket that Casey picked out for me for Christmas when he was three because he wanted me to always be warm. So sweet!

A few plans for the rest of the week...quit my job, scrap space playtime, quality time with kids.

Here is a picture thought I'm sharing with you...



My husband - wonderfully warm on cold winter nights! Super supportive, super helpful, super dad - I thank my lucky stars for him every single night!

Whole Lotta Love...

So we're nearing the end of the first week of December already - wow! I still feel like Halloween was last weekend. The Halloween candy has finally run out...I'm always happy to be done with it. No more candy battles.

The first day of December proved to be a sunny, clear, and cold one - my favorite kind of wintery day, and it started off in the sweetest way. Early in the morning, while it was still dark out and I was still in bed, I heard Cody start calling from his room, "I tode! I tode! I tode!". Cody has the cutest voice - he's sounds like a hoarse little toad. *Note to self: Must capture that voice on video/audio again soon!*. Then, pitter patter, pitter patter, (actually, more like - stompity stomp, stompity stomp), Cody makes his way into my room, still lamenting, "I tode! I tode!".

"Cody, are you cold?!"
"Yes!"
"Well, come on up here in bed with Mommy so that I can snuggle you up and get you warm!" (He half climbs/I half haul him up into bed with me).

After a couple of minutes, I hear Cody's little sleepy, froggy voice say, "We best friends!".

"Yes, Cody, that's right. We ARE best friends!".

"You da best mommma!"

(He's too sweet. I can't stand it!!)

"Aw, thanks, Cody!! And you're my very best little blue-eyed boy! I love you soooo much!!"

"And I yuv you so much too!".

Oh my word. Be still my beating heart!! Not even three yet. He is the sweetest combination of rough, tough, gruff, strong-willed and intense little guy, and sweet, loving, affectionate little charmer. Both my boys are very much this way. I couldn't be any luckier or any more thankful - such a beautiful way to start the day.

Send A Smile...

My son is napping (thank goodness!) and so I just poured myself a cup of tea and started randomly checking out my mega-list of bookmarked scrapbooking blogs. I came across a post on Jana Millen's blog with details about a card drive for six sick children. Such an easy and quick way to add a spark of sunshine to a brave little person's day. Go check it out!

For Today - November 27, 2009

Outside my window...are the Christmas lights my husband put up last weekend. I thought it was a bit too early, but I've adjusted!

I am thinking...about the projects I want to contribute to the Inspired Scrapper.

I am thankful...that November is almost over and yet I've experienced NONE of my usual late fall/early winter dark, grey, rainy day blues!

From the kitchen...nothing right now, but it IS time to start my annual Christmas cookie bakefest!

I am wearing...my typical at-home uniform - some type of sloppy old-school, non-trendy sweats (what would be called 'yoga pants' if they were new and I'd paid a lot of money for them!) and a hand-me-down fleece pullover from my father-in-law. There is no pretense of glamour here!

I am reading...assorted magazines passed on to me from my mom.

I am hoping...to have an incredible surge of energy, starting when I rise tomorrow morning and lasting me through the weekend! Or, actually, forever would be preferable...

I am going...to go to bed soon. Okay...soon-ish. Okay - hopefully before I sabotage my hopes of having the above-mentioned surge of energy by staying up until a stupid time for no good reason.

I am creating...order in my scrap space. Hopefully.

I am hearing...the damn Food Network! My husband loves this channel...and yet, as I look over at him I realize he is sleeping. What are the chances of me being able to turn the TV off without him waking up because of it?? Yep. Just what I thought. He's back, and so the TV natters on...

Around the house....small hints of Christmas, piles of laundry, a lot of assorted kid stuff. Seriously need to purge.

One of my favorite things...red wine. Like the kind that I am sipping right now.

A few plans for the rest of the week...Soccer, hockey, various household-related conquests, and the actual completion of some creative projects!

Here is a picture thought I'm sharing with you...
This is a picture I came across tonight as I was looking through my photo files. What struck me about this photo is Cody's sweet, babyish hand...still kind of pudgy, short little fingers...so cute, so sweet...he's almost past the age where any baby remains,so this picture is pulling at my momma heartstrings right now!

Still pinching myself...

I'm still surprised to be able to say this...I have been chosen to join a truly amazing group of women as part of the design team for The Inspired Scrapper. I'm beyond excited about this opportunity! These women are some of Canada's most creative talents - to be honest, I'm half convinced that I'm experiencing 'imposter syndrome' - I can't possibly belong among these people that I am now rubbing elbows with! Talk about motivation to 'step up my game'! Thank you, Sonja, for this wonderful invitation! I am so looking forward to getting to know the team better, and I can't wait to get started on my contributions!

And The Award Goes To...

Me! :) It was such a treat to open up my email this morning and find that my friend Kerry at Kerry'd Away Designs has named me for this Kreative Blogger award. So sweet! Thanks, Kerry! Once the award is accepted, the nominee has to do the following:

•Thank the sender for nominating you.

•make sure you link to the person who nominated you.

•Copy the logo onto your blog

•List seven interesting things about yourself.

•Nominate Seven Kreative Bloggers

•Post links to their Blog

•Leave a comment for each letting them know of their nomination.

So, here's the part where I list seven interesting things about me...('interesting' might be a bit of a stretch, but...here goes!)

1. I write with my left hand, but my right hand is otherwise dominant.
2. I taught myself how to read when I was 3.
3. A photograph of me was part of an exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery way back in the late 70's.
4. I got my first migraine headache when I was ten years old while on a bus with my class on our way to the Museum of Anthropology at UBC for a fieldtrip. I panicked because I thought I was going blind.
5. I started driving when I was 14 years old, thanks to an older boyfriend. I drove the streets of Vancouver for three years before I got my license at 17 (I think this tidbit qualifies as more of a 'secret' thing about me as opposed to an 'interesting' thing - so don't tell anybody!!)
6. I've never, ever tried smoking - cigarettes, or anything else, and I've never, ever done any other kind of illegal narcotic or street drug, etc.
7. I have a fear of heights and a fear of flying. I hope to conquer both!

Whew! That was tough - I wasn't sure for awhile if I'd make it to seven!

Now, it is my turn to nominate seven fellow bloggers.

1. Stacey at Pretty Crafty
2. The amazing Debby!
3. Erica at A Pod of Perkins
4. Eleonor's Stamping Blog
5. Tanya!
6. Joanne :)
7. Carla

Go check out these talented and inspiring blogs! Thanks again, Kerry - this was fun!

OWH Veterans Day Blog Hop...

Hello - and welcome to my blog! Maybe you found your way here from the Operation Write Home's Veterans Day Bloghop. If so - I'm glad to be one of the stops along the way! If you found your way to my blog through some other means, today I am participating in a blog hop, which, as mentioned, is hosted by Operation Write Home, through their Homefront Blog. Check them out!! OWH is an amazing, inspiring, grassroots organization that collects and ships handmade cards to men and women in the armed forces deployed overseas. The OWH mission statement is as follows:

OUR MISSION
To support our nation's armed forces by sending blank greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them.

As soon as I heard about this group, I knew I wanted to be part of it! It feels good to know that, even in the smallest of ways, I can do something, from way over here in my little corner of the world, to give something in return for the dedication and sacrifice that our heroic servicemen and women provide us. OWH has a Hero Blog that shares letters from these heroes and their families, expressing their appreciation and gratitude for the cards that they receive. It's so rewarding to read these communications from the people our cards reach. It's what fuels my motivation to keep gathering cards together and sending them off, and it gives me an airtight reason to ensure that I make time for my creative indulgences - a definite bonus! I'm in the midst of making as many Valentines Day cards as I can in time for the January 8 mailing deadline. January sounds like a long way off, but the way time goes hurtling along, I know I'll be down to the wire on these! I'm also going to write as many AnyHero cards and letters as I can. Don't know what an AnyHero card/letter is? Click on any of the links above to find out!

I hope to edit this post at some point today with some images of some of my cards, but in the meantime, I'll share this picture of my Grandpa, who was a veteran of WWII.

Now, I'll send you along to the next stop on our bloghop - without further adieu, go visit participant #70 - Chris, at There's No Place Like Gnome. Don't forget to leave a comment! Thanks for stopping by.

For Today...

"The beauty of the everyday moments". I've been interested in what The Simple Woman has been doing on her blog for awhile now, and I've been seeing her idea adopted on a number of blogs that I visit so I'm going to start doing it here. Seems like a nice way to pause at any point during the day, take notice of the moment, and reflect on it. I'm already certain that I will enjoy looking back on these entries.

FOR TODAY...

Outside my window. . . It's dark. It's late when I write this, but I can see what is outside clearly with my mind's eye - it's a view I have enjoyed for the last several years.

I am thankful . . . To be living in a country that has good medical amenities and accessibility.

I am thinking . . . .That I hope I am feeling a lot better tomorrow because I've got a lot to do around here!

I am celebrating . . . The amount of sunshine that we've been receiving in this little corner of the world!

From the kitchen . . . Homemade chicken soup, the way my Grandma used to make it!

I am wearing . . .Cozy fleece pants and a ratty old t-shirt. Hate to admit it, but it's what I usually slop around in while at home!

I am reading . . . A lot of blogs, and 'Breaking Dawn' by Stephanie Meyer.

I am hoping . . . That Casey is much better tomorrow, and that little Cody stays well.

I am hearing . . . The TV on in the living room. The TV is on way too much. Something to work on.

I am creating . . . All kinds of wonderful things...in my mind! Need to start getting these ideas from imagination to realization!

Around the house. . .Lots and lots and lots of work to do!

One of my favourite things . . . Quiet time in the evenings after the kids have gone to bed.

A few plans for the rest of the week . . .Rest. Recuperate. Get a date booked with a carpet cleaner.

A picture to share...

A Halloween Retrospective...

So Halloween has come and gone, and oh my goodness, it's November! November 1st, and the clocks have turned back. We've already taken all our Halloween decorations down...Halloween is not one of those holidays that can linger. It's been fun looking through the photos I took yesterday though - a few things struck me...

1. Where is Chanel? My daughter is not in any of the photos because she wasn't there. She had made plans with her friends. She's fourteen so it's understandable, but the idea of letting my daughter go off with friends on Halloween was somewhat nervewracking. It's dark, it's cold, there are ghouls and ghosts and goblins about with firecrackers and no curfews! The reality is, she had a fun (and uneventful!) time trick-or-treating with friends, then went to a friend's house for movies and a sleepover. A nice night, and perfectly suitable, for a teenager. It was a bit strange for me to not have her involved in our family activities. I missed her. But, it's one of those inevitable changes that all parents go through. For all the stages that get left behind, new ones come to replace them. Besides, that's what photographs and scrapbooking is for - I've got lots of great memories to look back at!

2. Casey decided to be a zombie this year. I had to wonder - what the heck does my six year old even know about zombies?! I asked Casey what he thought zombies were and he said they were dead people who were still walking around. I asked him where he heard about zombies. Of course, like so many things, he says he heard about it from a friend. An older boy. A seven year old! Ah, those playground lessons. A child's version of the information highway. We've all been a part of these sharings of wisdom at one stage or another. I have to admit, one of the first thoughts I had about Casey being a zombie was, "Inexpensive/easy costume! Yes!!". He could wear his dobok and be a Tae Kwon Do zombie. He was very excited about this. He was even more excited when the makeup kit we bought included a tube of fake blood. I was less excited about this! The kids wore their costumes to school on Thursday and I painted his face, but I told him that we would have to stop short of wearing the fake blood at school. He couldn't wait until Halloween - it was all about the fake blood! I'm not prudish, but the whole idea made me cringe a bit. Fake blood?! My sweet angel baby Casey was over the moon about fake blood?! It was very hard for me to paint a zombie face onto my little boy, but I got through it and seeing Casey so excited and proud about his costume made me feel pretty good. It's another one of those little milestones in childhood - the changeover from cute, cuddly costumes to grotesque, gory, and macabe ones!

3. Cody, my cute little crocodile. When asked what he wanted to be for Halloween, he told me he wanted to be a crocodile. Well, what do you know?! I just happened to have a crocodile costume in our dress-up box from a Halloween a few years ago when Casey was a crocodile. Again, I breathed a little sigh of relief, thinking about our family's piggy bank. Another thrifty, economically sound option. Then, I had a little case of the guilts. Cody is the child that gets all the hand-me-downs. Clothes, books, toys, costumes...Maybe he should have his own, unique, never before worn or photographed costume. I realized, though, seeing his excitement at getting dressed up for his little daycare Halloween party, and again in the afternoon on Halloween - making his crocodile roars and getting excited about scaring people - this is the kind of stuff that matters. He's two and a half years old! He's not putting the same values or judgements on all kinds of 'other stuff' - he's just excited and having fun! So, I shrugged off all my silly worries and just enjoyed watching him enjoy himself!

It was a fun day overall. We got together with some extended family, had a delicious and creative dinner of 'witches brew' (stew) and 'bat wings' (chicken wings) cooked up by my super helpful and super talented mother-in-law, and the kids got their treat bags stuffed! Now, here is what is, for me, one of those classic parenting dilemnas*. Trick-or-treating is certainly about the fun of choosing a costume, getting dressed up, and having fun running about the neighbourhood at night, getting excited about seeing all the other little ghosts and goblins (or cool looking Star Wars characters!), pumpkins all lit up, and homes and yards being creatively decorated. Trick-or-treating is also very much about getting all that candy! When trick-or-treating wraps up, my kids do the same thing that my brother and sister and I used to do when we were kids - come home, dump their bags out on the floor, and sort through the astounding variety of candy and chocolates that they collected.

*Dilemna - Management of the candy. The sheer volume makes me cringe. Words like 'juvenile diabetes', 'tooth decay', and 'childhood obesity' float around in my brain...We've got a pretty manageable system, I suppose - the kids can choose one piece a day. Well, at least, the two youngest kids. The oldest kid, the teenager, well - she is at the age where she keeps her haul in her room and it's up to her what she does with it. The truth of it is, she tends to binge for a good two or three days, works her way down to the inevitable motley mix of less desirable specimens, and then trashes them. Although my brain twitches a bit thinking about what she's just put her young, growing body systems through for the last 48 hours or so, it's over and done with in a pretty short amount of time. The younger kids are pretty agreeable and cooperative about the doling it out one piece per day over a month or so...when - oh my goodness, can you believe it?! They've eaten it all! It's gone! (wink wink nudge nudge). The classic parental disappearing act. Please tell me I'm not the only mom who utilizes this technique!

My favorite quote of the night: Cody and Casey are sitting on the floor at their grandparents' house prior to heading out to canvas the neighbourhood, just after I've finished painting Casey's face. Cody leans up against his big brother and says, "You're my best Zombie buddy!". So cute! Love the special bond those boys share.

Weatherwise, Halloween was a gem! Not a hint of precipitation. A sunny, blue-skied day settling into a crisp, clear, starry night. Not to mention the full moon! If I'd been magically bestowed with the power to script a perfect setting for Halloween night, I wouldn't have changed a thing!

Now, perhaps a few quiet, calm weeks to just relax before the inevitably frenetic rush towards the next big holiday? One can wish!

Red Friday...

What is Red Friday? Check out the Operation Write Home website or blog for more information. Here is a card I made using a very old Stampin' Up stamp (NOT a great photo!!) to include in a package of Christmas cards that I am getting together to send off before the OWH Christmas card deadline (all packages have to be postmarked by November 1st). Check out the OWH website and blog. Seriously inspiring, seriously moving, seriously all round wonderful!

To Everything There Is A Season...

Today is a grey, rainy day in Vancouver. It is also a bit cool. I think this officially ends what has been an outstanding summer here in Vancouver. I'm a bit sad about closing the door on summer, but because it really was such a spectacular season weather-wise this year, I have to be thankful for that much at least, and appreciate the good fortune of this lovely last stretch of Indian Summer that we have been enjoying up until now. Summer '09, we had a good run! Thank you for that! You will go down in the history books (and my scrapbooks!) as a winner! Truly, what more can we ask for? It's got to come to an end sometime, and given that today is the first day of October, I can't feel too much remorse! Besides, I don't like to focus on the negative. Remember the song, 'Turn, Turn, Turn' by the Byrds, from back in 1965, with words adapted from The Bible, book of Ecclesiastes? Click here for the YouTube link. It feels like a good song for today.

At work today, I left my building to head over to the nearby Starbucks. I hadn't yet had a caffeinated beverage and was feeling like my day, therefore, had not gotten off to a suitable start. My drink of choice through the summer months has been the Cafe Con Leche - also known as Iced Coffee, and I have not yet given up on this cold, refreshing beverage in favour of the steamy hot lattes just yet, so I suppose I haven't fully let go of summer...but I digress. This closing thought was not going to be about drinks or long goodbyes...I was going to end this post on a specifically positive, uplifting note. As I mentioned above, I do not like to focus on the negative, in any aspect of my life. I try to look out at the world with the determination that, to a significant degree, the success of a good day, or the failure to enjoy a day, is largely based on how we choose to see things. For example, I left my building today to head over to the nearby Starbucks. The outside world was somewhat dark, certainly gray, and enthusiastically moistened. A woman leaving the building at the same time as me stated, "What a crappy day!". I turned to her, smiled broadly, and said, "I prefer to think of it as lovely for the trees and grass!". She paused, looked doubtfully at me, and carried on her un-merry way. Apparently, she did not feel agreeable with me on this. Hmm. Oh well. I'll leave you with this:

"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine."

- Anthony D'Angelo

Conversations With Casey - 2 Years Later...

While trying to clean and organize my life (I am afflicted with the strange and frustrating 'Always Organizing Yet Never Organized' phenomenon), I came across a piece of paper on which I had scribbled a conversation between Casey and I dated August 26, 2007 - my sweet brown-eyed boy was only four!

We had been organizing (a recurring theme!), photos this time, when I came across this picture of me taken when I was three. The conversation went like this:

Me: "Casey, who is this a picture of?"

Casey: "Chanel? No! You!"

Me: "That's right - that's me when I was just a little girl."

Casey: "You look pretty there."

Me: "Oh, thank you, Casey!"

Casey: "You're welcome."

Me: "Look how long my hair was!"

Casey: "That's why you look so pretty!"

Ok. He melted my heart. He often does!

I also found it interesting that a four year old boy is already defining a girl as being pretty because of her hair. Ah, biology...that primitive, undeniable driving force! Being a mother to TWO boys is going to be an interesting journey. So far, I've loved every minute of it, and I don't expect to ever feel differently!

You've Lost That Bloggin' Feelin'...

...Whoah, that bloggin' feeling...you've lost that blogging feeling now it's gone, gone, gone, whoah whoah-oh-oh (ba boom, ba boom, ba boom boom boom...) - sung to the tune of 'You've Lost That Loving Feeling' by the Righteous Brothers.

I haven't blogged here since the end of July - almost a month now! It feels like a really loooong, time, and it's not because I've lost that bloggin' feelin'! Everyday I'm scribbling notes and thoughts and ideas all over any scrap of paper I've got lying around next to me (I know, I should use a notebook, and I do have one that I sometimes use, but I can't be consistent about it or I would totally ruin my reputation!). I'm almost always in a blogging frame of mind - at least, while I'm doing something else that makes blogging at that moment absolutely impossible, but - when I DO get to the point in my day where blogging could be a possibility...yeah, that blogging feeling is somewhat...absent. It's a twisted and dysfunctional dance I do with myself, and not just when it comes to blogging! But, that's a whole other blog post! (I will note this new idea down on a nearby scrap of paper and add it to the shoebox full of all my other idea-laden scraps of paper, to be fished out and re-examined at a later date...or not!)

I actually started this post NOT to talk about not blogging, but to make an actual 'real' post about something else altogether, but somehow along the way, the 'not blogging' discussion has become the discussion, and so my other blog post topic can join all it's friends in the aforementioned 'Box of Unrealized and Undeveloped Ideas' for another time.

In the meantime - Hey, look!! I updated my blog! Ahhh...it's great to be back!

Always, Sometimes, Never....

I got this idea from Eleonor's blog and thought it would be fun to do, so here's my go at it

I always:
Do the driving, whevever possible.
Have painted toenails.
Have to read before I go to sleep, even if I'm already exhausted or it's really late.
Prefer structure/routine/consistency to loosey-goosey schedules or spontaneity.
Wish my sister lived next door.
Require caffeine to start the day.
Wear sunscreen on my face - every day of the year.
Listen to music while I'm in the car

I sometimes:
Swear in front of my children.
Don't drink enough water each day.
Waste too much time on the computer when I really should be doing other things.
Get too much caffeine
Think about getting a dog
Find myself adopting other people's mannerisms/speech patterns/phrases etc.
Have dreams so vivid or realistic that I have to take a moment to figure out if something really happened or if it was just a dream.
Wonder if I've had undiagnosed ADD all my life

I never:
Bite my nails
Wear shoes on carpeted floors
Leave the water running when I'm brushing my teeth
Return movies or library books on time
Tried smoking or drugs
Am superstitious
Wish I was living any other life than the one I've got

Fun and Frolic with Paper and Glue...

Lovebug Scrapbooking is running a kit contest right now until mid-August and what a deal!! They have 5 small kits available for five dollars, or all five for twenty dollars. I bought two, and LOVE what I did with the Making Memories kit, if I do say so myself! I haven't had a very satisfying go at cardmaking or scrapping for what feels like quite awhile - until now! My 12x12 layout:






















From the leftover supplies, I was able to make six cards - adding nothing but cardstock and one ribbon! I still have enough left to make at least two more cards - sooo satisfying!!




"Art is not the bread, but the wine of life."
John Paul Richter

Positive Is As Positive Does...

I recently came across this blog, called Positively Present. The most recent post there is entitled, "100 Ways To Live In The Moment". It includes a great list of fun and creative ways to try your hand at living in the present. I've borrowed that list and re-copied it here - it's great food for thought! Head on over to positivelypresent.typepad.com and read more about this very positive and gratifying concept!

1.Ask someone about his/her life.
2.Write a handwritten note and mail it.
3.Make a promise (and keep it).
4.Look up at the sky and describe it.
5.Hug someone close to you.
6.Indulge in a long, warm bath.
7.Tell someone how much you love him/her.
8.Do something on your To Do list.
9.Apologize to someone you've hurt.
10.Re-read your favorite poem.
11.Turn off the TV for a week.
12.Relax in bed before sleeping.
13.Eat your favorite thing mindfully.
14.Ask someone an interesting question.
15.Take pictures of your favorite thing.
16.Go for a long walk somewhere beautiful.
17.Meditate for as long as you can.
18.Research an interesting topic.
19.Ask someone for advice and really listen.
20.Pay attention to your breathing for two minutes.
21.Answer the phone with cheer in your voice.
22.Make a decision immediately.
23.Close your eyes and image your paradise.
24.Mentor a young child (or an adult!).
25.Volunteer at a local charity.
26.Write a list of all you're grateful for.
27.Consider all possible solutions to a problem.
28.Take a different way to work.
29.Prepare your favorite meal for your family.
30.Offer praise to someone who deserves it.
31.Pay attention when others speak.
32.Watch a dog or cat (or baby) sleeping.
33.Prepare for tomorrow's work today.
34.Look at the details of a flower or plant.
35.Lie outside in the sun for a few hours.
36.Smile at yourself in the mirror.
37.Say "Thank you" and truly mean it.
38.Share your wisdom with someone else.
39.Do one thing that scares you.
40.Offer to help someone in need.
41.Watch a sunset or sunrise.
42.Visit a local museum and enjoy learning.
43.Organize your favorite photos online.
44.Send an email to an old friend.
45.Draw or paint something inspiring.
46.Host a party for no particular reason.
47.Tell yourself what you love about you.
48.Look for the positive in a problem.
49.Notice when the seasons are changing.
50.Imagine kissing your significant other.
51.Eat an ice cream cone outside when it's warm.
52.Share a joke with a friend and laugh loud.
53.Consider how feng shui might improve your home.
54.Spend a few hours alone, relaxing.
55.Make something from scratch.
56.List all of the things you've accomplished today.
57.Re-purpose something in your home.
58.Go to bed early. Wake up early.
59.Look for fireflies twinkling at night.
60.Pay attention to what your body is saying.
61.Make a very silly face at a friend.
62.Tell a child your favorite fairy tale.
63.Buy a gift for someone for no reason.
64.Watch a very positive TV show.
65.List the things you love about your body.
66.Take a road trip somewhere new.
67.Listen to your favorite song on repeat.
68.Smile brightly at the driver in the car next to you.
69.Write a love letter to yourself.
70.Kiss someone sweetly on the cheek.
71.Ask the question, "Why?"
72.Go for a run (or a quick walk). Move it!
73.Start a new, exciting project.
74.Spend a Saturday email-free.
75.Listen to and accept criticism with grace.
76.Speak cheerfully to your coworkers.
77.Look around you at how many colors there are.
78.Push yourself a little harder when working out.
79.Allow yourself to daydream.
80.Stop a bad habit (right now!).
81.Give yourself advice and follow it.
82.Turn off your phone for an evening.
83.Focus on what you're doing right this minute.
84.Speak to someone as if you really do care.
85.Treat yourself to a tasty snack.
86.Take three deep breaths before falling asleep.
87.Do jump jacks or jump rope.
88.Play with a puppy and watch how s/he romps.
89.Appreciate winter in summer (and vice versa).
90.Think about how amazing an invention is.
91.Hold someone's hand unexpectedly.
92.Wake up with a really long stretch session.
93.Pay attention to others' observations.
94.Watch how clouds move across the sky.
95.Listen to a bird's song (without being annoyed).
96.Introduce yourself to someone new.
97.Write down everything you're feeling today.
98.Think about why you love your favorite outfit.
99.Ask yourself, "What's awesome about this moment?"
100.Call someone just to say "I love you."