finding more happiness

Photo via Flickr Creative Commons, user: tanaise

It's not that I am not happy. I am. But I could be happier.

There are things I let into my life that chip away at the happy I could be. Whether it's little things like when I want Tupperware I have to dig for 10 minutes looking for the corresponding lid or big things like a a bad attitude about my traveling husband, they affect me.

Over the holidays, I read "Happier at Home" by Gretchen Rubin, the Happiness Project guru. (Random sidebar: Rubin grew up three blocks from where we live right now. See? Destiny.) She addresses everything from the decor of her home, celebrating holidays, her attitude about her husband never telling her good job and the "mean face" she gives when her kids interrupt her.  I was super inspired to start my own home happiness project because I have a mean face that I am pretty sure can rival hers.

I've divided out my happiness focus into months but reserving the right to change topics as life changes.I also had to set some ground rules, mostly adopted from Rubin's book but also a few of my own.

The Rules
1. My happiness tasks cannot rely on anyone else but me.
I'd be happier if the hubs cleaned the litter pans twice a week, but I can't really control the success of that task so it's not on the list.

2. The tasks should not turn into a really long to-do list that makes me stressed.
It has to contribute to long-term happiness, not the short-term happiness of having my floors clean. Getting rid of our flea infestation would definitely make me happier for the rest of my life so it counts.

3.  I will give myself grace.
If I vow to not give the mean face, and I do - I'll try harder tomorrow. The happiness project should not send me to a therapist for a guilt complex.

First up in January: Reducing the Chaos!

showering with books

Last weekend I hosted a book-themed shower for my friend Jenny who is due with a baby of unknown gender in March. On the invitation, I asked everyone to bring a children's book in addition to their gift. Out of 15 guests, there were no duplicates. Win.

I decorated with stuffed animals and children's books from my library and supplemented with some newer books from Henry's stash.

Made cupcakes with a book theme, borrowed from this site. Do not judge my frosting skills. I had a fever of 101, and they got a little roughed up in the transport and transfer to the plate.

The menu was a crepe bar. I made the crepes myself and had toppings of strawberries, peaches, blueberries, Nutella, powdered sugar and whipped cream. Everyone loved it and other than the intense crepe making, it was low on the labor scale.

We introduced ourselves by talking about our favorite book from childhood and then played an alternative book title game.

Next time, I'll go to the used book store and purchase books there for the decorations and then give them to the guest of honor as my gift. Good gift and easy clean-up!

I need to go to a beach so I can read these books

A Vintage Affair
Every dress has a history. And so does every woman. A treasured child’s coat becomes a thread of hope connecting two very different women.

Fly Away Home
From the #1 "New York Times"-bestselling author of "In Her Shoes" and "Good in Bed" comes a novel about a family of women who seek refuge in an old beach house.

Anonymous: Jesus' Hidden Years and Yours

We all experience times of hiddenness, when our potential is unseen and our abilities unapplauded; college freshmen, transplanted professionals, new parents, the widowed, the retired, the waiting.

Crazy Love

God is Love. Crazy, relentless, all-powerful love.

Outliers: The Story of Success

In this landmark work, the author of "Blink" and "The Tipping Point" asks what makes high-achievers different Brilliant and entertaining, "Outliers" is a landmark work that will simultaneously delight and illuminate.

 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

An international publishing sensation, Stieg Larsson's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo combines murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue into one satisfyingly complex and entertainingly atmospheric novel.

Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage

Picking up where her bestselling memoir "Eat, Pray, Love" left off, Gilbert details the extraordinary circumstances that surround her love with Felipe, the man she swore never to marry. Told with Gilbert's trademark wit, "Committed" is a celebration of love with all the complexity and consequence that real love, in the real world, actually entails.

Three Cups of Tea

The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his humanitarian campaign to use education to combat terrorism in the Taliban's backyard.

The Curse of the Good Girl

The bestselling author of "Odd Girl Out" exposes the myth of the Good Girl, freeing girls from its impossible standards and encouraging them to embrace their real selves. At once expository and prescriptive, "The Curse of the Good Girl" is a call to arms from a new front in female empowerment.

Girl in Translation

A fresh, exciting Chinese-American voice makes an inspiring debut with this novel about an immigrant girl forced to choose between two worlds and two cultures.