Happiness challenge

[Freedomin5]

My friend and I booked a girls' getaway to a scenic area in a neighboring province. Looking forward to sitting in a hotel overlooking terraced rice fields, mountains, and rivers.

[MarcherLady]

Our Q2 financial position is looking pretty healthy and I have a good husband who brings me delicious coffee in bed.

[oneday]

Just hours away from a 3-day weekend with many fun things planned. Boss is already out of the office, so I'm coasting :)

[nessness]

Went for a nice swim today. Having friends/family members with pools is so much better than having one yourself - most of the benefit with none of the cost! 😀

[Metalcat]

Went for a nice swim today. Having friends/family members with pools is so much better than having one yourself - most of the benefit with none of the cost! 😀

Or living in a complex where it's someone's job to take care of it. We bought this place largely for the 50ft pool.

[nessness]

Had a nice holiday yesterday with my extended family. It was the first time we let the 4-year-old stay up to watch fireworks, and she was over the moon - it was really cute to watch.

I had the day off work today, and it was a good mix of relaxing and productive - I got some decluttering done and folded lots of laundry, but also read several chapters of my book.

[Metalcat]

I had dinner with a dear friend and colleague today who used to work at the business where I had a deal crash and burn quite spectacularly last year.

I was the only person not made to sign an NDA or a non compete during the process of the deal, so I was able to tell my friend the whole story in gruesome, gory detail.

That alone was nice, but a really pleasant surprise was to hear that the perception of what happened among my peers actually paints me in a very good light. I've been licking my wounds thinking my colleagues would assume that I bit off more than I could chew and just couldn't cut it. Apparently that's not the perception at all and that people assume I walked into the deal, realized it was fucked, and walked right back out with a big ol' "NOPE".

Neither is accurate, but if my professional world is going to have the wrong impression, it's nice to hear that the rumour mill is being kind to me.

[oneday]

Nice weekend. Spent some quality time with family and saw a cool parade. Stayed indoors to keep the cat calm and that was a good choice for me this year. I will see fireworks again some other year.

[MarcherLady]

Yesterday I got Jab 2, and we got our quiet house back (our visitor left). Today is wet so it's the perfect day to laze around and nurse my sore shoulder and stiff neck. Everyone tells me that if you had a 'vigorous' reaction to the AZ jab 1 you get on much better with jab 2, so I'm hoping that's the case.

[nessness]

I got a good hard workout in, which I haven't been doing often enough. It felt really good.

[nessness]

Today's happiness was walking my kids down the street to see about 200 goats that the county is using to eat down the vegetation. We had a lot of fun trying to name them and decide which one was the cutest.

[oneday]

@nessness thanks for bringing this thread back to life. I've been in a funk and it would help to be more grateful.

Today, had a video appointment with the physical therapist and she was good and didn't give me too many exercises!

[lazycow]

5th lockdown in Victoria, and I am temporararily out of mental energy to find happiness in anything. BUT will challenge myself to go for a walk when it stops raining, and visit all the newborn lambs in the paddocks nearby. Their gambolling is the epitome of joyfulness and never fails to make me laugh.

[deborah]

I am rather exhausted. Twice in the past week, I have returned from a shopping expedition in the late afternoon to be told that I have less than seven hours to drive to the border. Both times, if I hadn’t crossed the border by midnight, I would be in quarantine for 14 days. The border is about 4 hours drive from my house and 3.5 hours drive from my mother’s. So on Sunday evening I drove to my mother’s, then on Thursday evening I drove back, making the border at about 9:30pm both times, and arriving at my destination in the early hours of the morning both times. After the first border crossing I had to self isolate, get covid19 tested, and wait for the result (-).

I am happy.

I’m happy that I made it to the border both times and that people told me the closures were happening in time (both times I found out within an hour of the announcement, so I had time to get across).

I am happy that tonight I’ll be attending a performance of a group that I really like, that it’s actually going to happen, and I can attend.

I am happy that I can go to the dentist on Tuesday and get my wobbly tooth looked at.

I am happy that I went to my mother’s place and so she had one of us visit her for a few days, which hasn’t been possible ever since my father’s funeral. And that we had a great time and did stuff that needed to be done.

I’m happy that she gave me some books that I wanted that were dad’s.

I’m happy that it isn’t raining, like it has been all week.

[Freedomin5]

Got my second COVID vaccination today! I am happy that I had a vaccination buddy. Scheduling and navigating the vaccination process in China as a foreigner is not easy, so it was very nice to get vaccinated together with my friend.

I’m also happy that, so far, the side effects aren’t as bad as they were the first time. (knock on wood, hope I haven’t jinxed it)

[Metalcat]

I'm happy to no longer be walking around with a broken front tooth. It's not the actual tooth that's broken, I was hit in the face as a kid, my front teeth have been porcelain for decades, and one of them cracked 7 months ago.

And no, I did not put off getting it treated, it's just a somewhat complicated case that involved a lot of steps and I insisted on having it done by two of the best dentists in the city, and they're always very busy.

The work won't be done until 2022, but at least I'm in temporaries and my teeth look amazing now. I was looking earily like one of my brothers and I did NOT like it.

Part of the complexity is that I had some very finicky cosmetic gum surgery, but now my smile looks much better than it did before, so that's a big bonus for having to deal with my stupid broken tooth. I've wanted this done for many years, but couldn't bring myself to do it until I had a reason to replace the existing porcelain.

So yeah, I'm finally getting my perfect smile.

[Metalcat]

Oh! I have another one!

So I was out to dinner last night with a group of women who are all very successful medical professionals, including my amazing dentist. Anyway, somehow we find out that we all have the strangest thing in common: we all had pet rats at some point.

How weird is that???

[oneday]

Today I made good use of my time. Sometimes, especially lately, it seems like I just spend time waiting for something to happen. But today I made somethings happen: long-procrastinated cleaning, reading, hanging out with BF. All of that made me happy.

[mspym]

I couldn't go for a walk with my friend because she injured herself but I could go for a walk and send her pictures of the dogs I met.

[MarcherLady]

Today is cooler than yesterday so we can walk (a lazy day yesterday was nice, but I sleep so much better when I have done something)

[expatartist]

@Malcat an unusual coincidence. Would you describe members of your group as quirky or unconventional?

Today's happiness: Sunday brunch on the terrace with a view of Mount Lycabettus, and grateful for some emergency English -> Greek translation help later today for our exhibition.

[Freedomin5]

Oh! I have another one!

So I was out to dinner last night with a group of women who are all very successful medical professionals, including my amazing dentist. Anyway, somehow we find out that we all have the strangest thing in common: we all had pet rats at some point.

How weird is that???

So I guess that means, since my daughter loves all rodents and would LOOOVE a pet rat, that means she will likely become a successful medical professional. Good to know. :P

[Freedomin5]

I scored a secondhand brand new sewing machine. The person I bought it from had purchased it a few years ago and then never used it. I’ve been happily sewing cotton masks all afternoon. I have quite a bit of scrap fabric so now I can coordinate my masks to my outfits.

[TheFrenchCat]

I was very productive today without overdoing it and making myself miserable.  I can actually enjoy the feeling that I got everything I needed to done.

[use2betrix]

Nice productive day with my wife before our first baby arrives in a few weeks.
Lifted weights for 75 minutes and then cycled 30 miles on the peloton.
My wife and I went to the organic grocery store, set up a “Ring” home security system, packed the hospital bag for the baby, and a few other odds and ends.
Now about to eat some delicious sous vide tenderloin, corn on the cob, and mashed baby red potatoes..

Our days will be changing very soon, and we’re anxiously awaiting!

[oneday]

Today's happiness was getting all the materials needed for the birthday gift I'm making for my nephew. The timeline is short, so I'm glad to be able to start now.

[nessness]

I went to the DMV today to get a Real ID and was prepared for a multi-hour ordeal. It was fairly busy, but they were super efficient and I was in and out in about half an hour! Never thought I'd put "going to the DMV" on my happiness list. 😉

[oneday]

@nessness what an incredible story!

Yesterday's happiness was a massage. It was rough and I'm a bit sore, but now I have increased mobility in my shoulder!

[Freedomin5]

Woke up at 4:45 AM at this morning and went for an hour-long bike ride while the temperature was still under 30C. It’s amazing how energized and awake I currently feel.

[oneday]

Remembered to log into a friend-Zoom that I seem to have forgotten about for the last month. Nice to see those folks!

[MaybeBabyMustache]

Similar to @oneday - I got my first massage in 18 months. I have scoliosis (among other challenges) & the pain has been immense. I felt like an entirely new person afterward.

On a related note, I was also able to give my Theracane (manual massage tool) away, as we have a TheraGun. I made someone else very, very happy on my Buy Nothing group, as she is unable to get a massage & suffering from an injury. I love being able to help someone else out, and getting stuff out of my house that we don't need. Wins all around.

[oneday]

Yesterday I did a lot of procrastinating, but finally got around to my targeted to-do item. It was not even as bad as I was expecting! Happy to have that off my list forever.

[nessness]

I got a big bag of fresh veggies from a woman in a Facebook group I'm in, and gave her a dozen eggs in exchange. Facebook has its flaws (major understatement), but can be great for facilitating things like that.

The kids stayed over at my mom's house last night, and my husband and I went out for dinner, which we haven't done in forever. It was really nice.

[oneday]

How is everyone doing with "happiness"? I've struggled recently with overall mood, and yet there is something *every day* that is a bright spot.

Yesterday's was finishing my craft project by the deadline (it's a gift).

[MarcherLady]

I

How is everyone doing with "happiness"?

I am doing pretty well. I was saying to Hubs yesterday, I can't actually remember the last day I had a 'bad day'.

Without work's ups and downs my life has settled into quite a steady pattern, and it's a good one. Threads like this are really good for making me notice that.

[Metalcat]

Really great.

April was a brutal, brutal, ugly, challenging month, and it's taken some time to fully bounce back, but I'm totally back to my normal happy self again.

[Freedomin5]

I was able to rebook my vacation last minute with no penalties (we are in the middle of a typhoon and the government recommends staying indoors as much as possible). I live on an upper floor of the building so there’s little chance of my unit being flooded. My apartment is snug and cozy. We have lots of food and lots of water. I spent the day reading. Life is good.

[nessness]

Today's happiness was my 4-year-old. She was staring at me this morning so I asked her what was up, and she responded, "nothing, I just love you." 🥰

She also made me a picture and wrote "mom" on it mostly correctly. And she's starting to get the hang of swimming - she can swim around 10 feet independently.

[lazycow]

Today I was offered a 2 week casual admin job, starting tomorrow. The people are lovely, the pay is GREAT and it will get me out of the house and into a productive routine during this current lockdown! Because I have become such a good declutterer and home organiser (years in the making, believe me!) I have clean clothes for the next 2 weeks, and a freezer full of single serve meals to take for my lunches. And our lockdown is almost certain to lift in the next couple of days. YAY.

[never give up]

Today I have the day off of work and so I didn’t have to set an alarm. I woke up in my own good time. I’ve just filled my cycling bottle with clean water from a tap, that seemingly like magic produces clean water every time I use it. I’m just going out in the sunshine for a bike ride and when I come back I have strawberries. Mmmm strawberries.

Both myself and Bertie the bike are very happy and appreciative right now, although selfishly I won’t be sharing my strawberries with him.

[MaybeBabyMustache]

July had ups & downs for me, but mostly ups. It was very, very quiet (our two teens were spending 3 weeks with my parents).

A few happiness moments:
-After not being alone with my spouse for any chunks of time in 15+ years, it's clear that we are still a good match/will enjoy each other in retirement. It's not that I doubted this, it's just that our lives are pretty busy & kid focused.
-I started to get used to the quietness. In many ways, it was so wonderful & relaxing. In other ways, it made me aware that I will have time for additional hobbies/friends/activities
-My 14 y.o finally said he missed me, on a call. Only took three weeks. ;-) My teens can be very surly, so this was an unexpected surprise
-My kids & my dad participated in a huge fundraiser (that my dad organized & led). I was a bit anxious about it (biking 40 miles of mountain biking, in the dark with headlamps for the kids, & almost double that for my dad). It all went well, they exceeded their fundraising targets, everyone survived without injuries, and both the kids & my dad are thrilled with the feeling of completing such a big event. My dad is 71, so this was a big deal for him, and has kept him in great shape the past couple of years.
-I finally have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday. It's part of why July has been hard for me, but knowing that I'm meeting with experts & will get some answers to long standing questions & challenges feels like a lot of progress.

Also, I made myself a delicious cup of tea this morning. It's cool enough for tea, and that's always a win.

[mspym]

I had been having a bit of a sad this month but this weekend pulled myself out of the slump and decided to truly enjoy not having to find a new job in the middle of lockdown. Ofpym has a week off and we are booping around in a very retirement-lite fashion, and it's super enjoyable.

- It's been a month since I woke up because of an alarm
- It's a glorious cool sunny day
- I had a splendid cup of coffee
- I get to go running with my dog this morning
- I bought some books to help me with some of my hobby goals.

[Freedomin5]

The typhoon has passed and I am looking forward to a morning power walk and likely also an evening walk.

[oneday]

Good to hear so many happy reports! I'm going to list it as today's happiness, it's really boosted my mood!

@MarcherLady your even mood and @Malcat your return to normal/happy and @Freedomin5 your "life is good" in the face of a typhoon are inspiring to me.

@nessness your daughter is heart-meltingly adorable.

Yesterday Mom, her husband, my BF and I made avocado toast by committee and it was glorious!

[Serendip]

Nice to catch up on everyone's happinesses.
I was away for a few weeks and getting home yesterday was a real joy-making moment.

Also, my visit with family went well (with ups & downs..but mostly up especially since I spent more time than usual so it was a more casual vibe, was even able to see some childhood friends) I spent time in the garden admiring valerian in bloom, weeding thistles, building a pea trellis with my dad.

And was there for my nephews birthday--he turned 4. I hung big cut branches from the ceiling alongside some big paper pom-poms and during dinner he just looked up while eating and said 'this room just looks so sweet'.

[Metalcat]

Good to hear so many happy reports! I'm going to list it as today's happiness, it's really boosted my mood!

@MarcherLady your even mood and @Malcat your return to normal/happy and @Freedomin5 your "life is good" in the face of a typhoon are inspiring to me.

@nessness your daughter is heart-meltingly adorable.

Yesterday Mom, her husband, my BF and I made avocado toast by committee and it was glorious!

I was actually on a nice long phone call with another forum member yesterday talking about happiness and how it isn't so much a state as a learnable skill. It's more an approach to life than a product of it.

Sometimes there are major barriers to happiness, I was frankly NOT happy in April, but it's all about managing those barriers and appropriately processing whatever shit comes along so that it doesn't permanently alter your capacity to enjoy your life.

If there's one major thing I've learned in my crazy, crazy life is that literally ANYTHING can be processed and incorporated into a process of thriving. It's not easy, but it's simple.

That said, a lot of things need to be resolved before they can be processed. There are certain barriers to well being that are simply not sustainable. I know too many people trying to sustain lives in unsustainable conditions, and that's why they're so fucking miserable.

[deborah]

Today I went to my weekly sewing group. I’m really happy it’s on each week, and it’s a lovely group of people. We meet in a free room in a venue and there is an enormous television there (it’s muted). During the one and a half hours I was there the Olympic Games were on live, and we saw the coxless women’s and men’s rowing and the women’s two hundred metres swimming finals, each of which was a gold medal for our team, as well as a number of other heats. We were all very happy to see this. It’s probably the only part of the olympics that I’ll see live since I don’t have a television.

[mspym]

Today I saw a woman walking with five (5) standard poodles, perfectly graded in hue from cream to jersey caramel. Since I was wearing a similar palette, it gave me this perfect moment of happiness imagining myself with 5 tonally perfect dogs.

[deborah]

Today I saw a woman walking with five (5) standard poodles, perfectly graded in hue from cream to jersey caramel. Since I was wearing a similar palette, it gave me this perfect moment of happiness imagining myself with 5 tonally perfect dogs.

That’s wonderful!

[MarcherLady]

Today I saw a woman walking with five (5) standard poodles, perfectly graded in hue from cream to jersey caramel. Since I was wearing a similar palette, it gave me this perfect moment of happiness imagining myself with 5 tonally perfect dogs.

No photos? Darn!

Today Hubs is on one of his solo outings, so I have the house to myself for the day. I will miss him, but only a bit :-)