The happy moments indeed continue

The picture on day 14 was captured as my mother was practically sprinting through the Houston Hobby airport with her jam-packed rolling carry-on floating behind her. (far more jam-packed than mine, for the record..... a trait that I did not get from her: the tendency to pack a bunch of shit that I am really, truly, not going to wear).  My mother has never been one to stand still on an escalator, or watch her groceries slowly inch down the conveyor belt at the supermarket.  Her energy is something that I will forever admire her for.  I am amazed by the way she just keeps going all the time, no matter how tired she may be.  I must proudly say, I did inherit this trait from her.  Being blessed with this trait can sometimes be a curse; we run ourselves wild, and end up falling asleep at Friday night dinner parties or after a single glass of wine.  But even in my most exhausted moments, I am proud to have my mothers awesome energy and work ethic.  It has gotten me far at this point in my life, and will only take me further from here.

Day 15 was nothing short of perfection. I had a good book in my hand (not as good as the one I had just finished on the plane the day before, though.  Moving on from "Bloom" by Kelle Hampton was sort of like moving on from a break-up), a margarita wine in hand, and a new pair of shades.  I have spent the last 15 years of my life searching for a nice pair of aviators that did not make my face look like a balloon, and at last in Texas, the purchase was made.  It is impossible to have these moments everyday; life simply gets in the way.  So I chose to embrace this relaxing and peaceful moment as much as I possibly could.


that "energy" that I spoke about in day 14 has officially worn off, and I am  having trouble keeping my eyes open....

sleep tight,
J

Day 11,12,13

Day 11 happens often. It consists of spending time at a place that is new to me, but is home to me. I am once again forever grateful for the moments in life that make me wonder, "what did I do before this?" Life will be full of those moments, and watching them unfold will always be so intriguing to me. 

On day 12, I walked into my apartment after a long, dissatisfying day at work to a card in the mail. My address was clearly written in my moms handwriting. I tore it open to find the absolute most adorable "just because" card from my mother. Inside she wrote the sweetest words, which I just so happen needed to hear after my day at work. My mother. I have no words to describe the way she is and the way she works. I don't know how she pulls things off, how she makes things happen, but she does. I will spend my life striving to be like her. I strive to work like her, to love like her, to commit like her, to cook like her, to be a mom like her. 

On day 13, a left work behind for my first mini paid "vacation". After a few years of unpaid time off, this was a concept that boggled my mind. So, the night before we flew to Texas, my mom drove up with her packed bags, and we cracked open a few bottles of wine in order to celebrate our great escape. This bottle read: "project happiness. Finally someone put happiness on a bottle. Took long enough, didn't it?" :-)

Stay happy,

J

Day 8,9,10

Day 8 was such a relaxing day. Matt and I slept in, then ventured into Montclair for a beautiful afternoon. We had brunch at a local diner in upper Montclair, and spent at least an hour going through this amazing book store. I have already read both the books that I bought there, so it was clearly an amazing place. I can somehow get lost in book stores. I enter into a thousand different worlds all at once, and getting back into my own world once I leave takes time. That is one of the most amazing things about literature. It's such easy access to a beautiful place. Choose your books wisely, my friends. For they are your great escape :)

Day 9 took place on Easter. Easter was a little different this year than usual, but wow. What a beautiful day. It started off in church, of course. The morning was absolutely exquisite. The picture I chose for day 9 was of Kristy and I. I decided to stop in on their Easter to say hi, and it just so happened that I was in the right place at the right now. I am forever thankful for the beautiful "family" that I have here in NJ. Without them, I absurdly wouldn't be the person that I am today. Matt and I spent Easter afternoon with his family. It was one of the greatest afternoons I could have ever asked for. I really am so, so blessed. 

Day 10 was simple. Leftover Easter food, sandwich style. Thanks to my amazing guy for bringing it to my house after a long day at work. One of the many, many reasons why I am 150 percent head over heels in love with this man: he can read my hunger like the back of his hand, and how sure knows how to deal with it. 

Be awesome,

J

100 days of happiness continued

Back at it: catching up on my 100 days of happiness. 

 Day 6 was dedicated to somebody who has just recently walked into my life. Like I said in my previous post, life is just weird like that. I have been so blessed in my life to have met such wonderful people, and I still have my whole life ahead of me. When I posted the picture for day 6 on Instagram, Jenna and I had decided to go get tattoos together. I was getting a cross on my foot, and Jenna was getting the libra sign on the back of her heel. I snapped a picture of her while she was getting her tattoo done, and happened to be laughing way harder than she should be while getting a tattoo. My caption under the picture read: little miracles happen everyday, and this winter, the excessive snow brought me to this girl and her amazing, beautiful family. I could not be more grateful to have them in my life.  It does not get any truer than that statement. 

Day 7. If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31. I could not state it any better way. If God is the creator of all, and he is for us, then how can someone be against us who has been created in His name? 

100 Days of Happiness

Totally hooked on this "100 Days Of Happiness" thing, but I wanted to begin this blog so that I had a better chance at explaining my happy moment each day. I want to write about what it is that's bringing me to that place, how that moment may have helped me, and how I can continue to create these moments not only for myself, but for the people around me.

Before I begin, my inspiration to blog more came from the author Kelle Hampton. In her book "Bloom" she writes a lot about her blogging experience. Once I finished her fantastic memoir, I began to follow her blog as well. I can't get it out of my head that it's time for me to start my blogging journey. So here we go....

100 Days of Happiness

Day 1

The bracelets that I wear on my left hand bring me endless amounts of strength. My leather rope from Guyana connects me to the people I met there and the experiences I had. It always comes close to falling off, and somehow I always catch it. My black Buddha beads represent my patients at work. It was made for me by a coworker that has helped me through thick and thin since I started my new job.  He told me to spin my beads and rotate my bracelet when I am having a challenging day and need inner peace and strength. Last but not least, my orange bracelet was made for me by a new friend that has just recently walked into my life. How is it possible that I spent 25 years without having this person by my side? Life is weird like that. We don't realize we were missing something until it's right in front of us.  She gave me the bracelet that morning with a note attached. The note simply read: I have faith in you. Adding this bracelet to my left hand was indeed my happy moment of the day. It was another peace of joy, love and strength being added to my left hand collection. Thank you, to my dear friends in Guyana, my amazing and supportive coworker, and my newly found soul sister for making day 1 so special to me. I carry you with me wherever I go.  In thr words of E.E. Cummings: I carry your heart with me, I carry it in my heart. I am never without it. Anywhere I go, you go, my dear. 

Day 2

I had labeled this one: "backseat cruising with my boyfriend". There is nothing more satisfying than those moments when Matt us by my side, and we are just simply living. This moment was one of them. That sunny Sunday was full of happy moments. After church, I spent the day with such amazing people.  Good friends, good beer, and vitamin D made this day the special day that it was. But nothing compared to that simple moment with my boyfriend. There is nothing more beautiful than those moments where you look around at your life, or at your situation, and simply say "thank you" to God for his countless and endless blessings. 

Day 3

My first gel manicure!

We'll, I'm now completely hooked. I went out. I bought the kid. I bought colors. And have been attaching my hand with the UV light since I brought it home from CVS on Good Friday afternoon. Hello, new form of therapy and self pampering. Nice to meet you :)

Day 4

Missing. Oops. I swear, I had a happy moment though!

Day 5

When I wake up in the morning, one of my favorite things to do is walk into the living room. The sun radiates through the bay windows, illuminating the entire room with this warm rays. I recall it snowed the night before. A random April flurry, which didn't surprise me after the winter we had. I couldn't help but capture the warm sun streaming through the windows that morning. It surely was a beautiful sight. 

Enough for tonight, I'm getting sleeping. More catching up on my 100 Days of Happiness tomorrow

Peace & love always,

J