A Touch of Spring

Oh, internet!  I wish this blog was equipped with smell-o-vision.  These hyacinths are filling my office with the sweetest smell of spring!  And the way this spring is going, we all need a beautiful burst of color and reminder that spring (real spring with its warmth, longer days filled with sunshine, and fresh cool breezes) will arrive . . . someday soon.

By the way, I ordered these from the Hudson Flower Shop in Hudson, WI.  Check them out if you're looking for a little flowery beauty for your office, house, wherever!

Rose Feeds Herself

Tonight at dinner, Rose demonstrated how she can feed herself . . . applesauce!

Each day with Rose is a riot, and my heart is full of pride as she masters all of these new skills.  Go Rose!

  

More Hope

My friend, Yen Chee is a gorgeous person, inside and out.  From the moment I met her almost seven years ago, I have LOVED spending time with her; she is a joyous spirit.  Yen is super talented and one of her gifts is to design amazing jewelry.  On the Giving section of her website, http://www.yencheedesign.com/giving.html, she is offering one of her beautiful necklaces, the Hope Necklace. 

Yen will donate the net proceeds from the sale of the necklace to Free Arts Minnesota http://www.freeartsminnesota.org a nonprofit organization, which does important healing work with children who have experienced abuse.  Thank you, Yen, for multiplying the beauty and creating more joy in the world.  
  

Art for Everyone

Maybe I'm late to the party (which is okay as long as there are still snacks!) but, have you seen this site/project?  www.20x200.com They believe everyone deserves to live with great art.  So they offer REAL art, in limited editions, at affordable prices, typically starting at 200 editions at $20 each.  Each week they offer a new photograph and a new piece on paper.  I have already bought a couple of pieces because I love having beauty surrounding us in our home.   

The other great thing about 20x200?  They offer easy how-to-frame instructions!  Perfect!

Here's one of the prints that I purchased, by Lisa Congdon:

The birch trees on the pink background are really joyful.  Yay for art!  

More Joy - Welcome

Once asked (by a Buddhist life coach, of course) if I was afraid of being happy, I instantly replied that I was not afraid of being happy; my dilemma was how to increase the amount of happiness in my life. 

From there, I realized that my purpose, my life goal, my raison d’etre (if you would be so kind) was to be joyful.  I believe that how we are and what we think creates the world around us.  When I said the words out loud, that I wanted to create more happiness in life, something clicked.  My heart and brain said, “Aha!” There it is.    

For those of you who know me, I am not always a bubbly, happy-go-lucky kind of woman:  I am often judgmental and picky.  I can be indecisive and decidedly crabby.  And yet, I feel so strongly drawn towards finding those things, experiences, people, everything and anything  that will make me laugh, sigh, sparkle, and feel warm inside.  When I laugh out loud, it makes the world a better place. 

My mission is to seek out what brings me joy.  Books.  Babies, especially Rose.  Flowers.  Octopi.  Sushi.   Yellow curry.  Hugs.  Blue cheese dressing.  Being right.  Moving my body.  Brunch.  Warming up my feet on Rich.  Semicolons.  And (this is where you come in) making others happy, too.            

So there you are.  Please come along and visit.  Maybe this blog will spark joy in you.  Even on your crankiest day. 

Joyfully,

Heather