What I Have

Today I was checking facebook and saw a bunch of new pictures that one of my friends posted. It reminded me that I have really good friends and a really good life.

A Passion

Nothing makes me happier than to discover a passion or see someone else doing something cool with their passion.

I read an article yesterday about a woman who has a passion for the sewing machine. In an ambitious one year challenge, Marisa Lynch is taking $1 thrift store finds and sewing them into something magical every day. That's 365 new outfits for only $365. Wow. Passion, an incredible skill, a new wardrobe - what more could you want?

Before

After

Before and After

Kindness

There are people that I come across now and then that really make me stop and think. People that are so friendly and cheerful that it just makes me happy.

If you have worked retail you know how physically draining and emotionally draining a day at work can be. The work is never ending and customers can be very demanding and just plain rude. There are however gems that come along and turn my whole mood upside down, and today I was fortunate enough to meet two of these gems.

The first was a sweet older women that I was helping at the register. I took over for my coworker in the middle of her transaction and right off the bat she had the kindest smile. I asked her how she was doing and she answered, " just great" then said, " I love your eyelashes!" When everything was finished I handed her her bag and said, "thanks for coming in today, have a great day!" She replied " you too, and I just love your eyelashes, so pretty!"

Seconed gem. I was helping a women find an item but we didn't have the color she wanted so we needed to order it from our in store kiosk. I have never used one of these things before today so I was a little worried but we figured it out together and it was pretty fun. She was so nice and patient and treated me like I saved the day.

These two women don't know it, but they made my day. I was not having a good day at work. I was tired and my feet hurt and was feeling so low that I wanted to just leave. Coming across these ladies and their happieness turned it all around.

They say happieness is contagious, and I believe it! When I meet people like that it makes me want to be a better person. I'm so greatful for people that make life brighter with thier kindness.

Hot, Hot, Hot!

What I'm about to tell you didn't actually happen today, it was yesterday but, too good to not tell.

Yesterday I took a trip to Multnomah Falls with five friends. We took two cars, mine was one of them. I have had a few problems with my car, but none recently so I felt pretty good taking my little red 94' Mazda. The weather was even perfect for my car, since I don't have air conditioning, we didn't have to roll the windows down and get blasted from the wind. Everything was going quite well, that is until these words left my mouth, "there's smoke coming out of my car"!

My car was hot! The little gauge was past the "h" and traffic was barely moving, which didn't help. I was able to pull over and let my car cool down, thinking the whole time of how bored we would be. I was on the verge of getting upset when one of my friends found a can of silly string (that was given to me by Ashley) in the back seat and started spraying us with it. I didn't know that silly string would come in handy just sitting in my car, but it did! Instead of being bored we had a silly string fight. There was also a very nice trucker that gave me two gallons of water, because the coolant I always have in my trunk wasn't there like it should have been.

We finally made it to Multnomah Falls and over all had a very fun trip. Thank goodness for silly string and thank goodness friends!

Happy Book

"I wonder what Piglet is doing," thought Pooh, "I wish I were there to be doing it too."

Sometimes I randomly google Winnie the Pooh. It never fails to bring me a small bit of happiness.

Cravings

"The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you would rather not."

~Mark Twain

Progress

Today I saw the new layout for the blog for the first time and that made me really happy! I love progress. Ashley is amazing! :)

Editing Joy

I played around with the blog design today. That made me really happy.

Speaking of boats...

In the midst of calling ALL 50 states to talk to their state bar departments, I found this little happiness. Isn't it beautiful?

Beautiful Portland

Seeing the city of Portland from the river is a beautiful site. Boating has become one of my favorite things to do. No matter what my day has been like. On the river, in a boat, I'm happy.

A Day Like Today

On a day like today where everything was new and different and unfamiliar, this picture made me really happy.

The Way You Make Me Feel

Have you ever had those days when the radio plays all your favorite songs? That was my day, and it was great!! They even played my all time favorite song "The Way You Make Me Feel" by Michael Jackson.

I hope this song brings you as much happiness as it brings me! If you get the urge to dance when you hear it go with it!

In Good Hands

On top of all the sad emotions that come with moving and leaving behind the people and places I've come to love so much, I've been preparing myself to sell my 1992 Toyota Camry aka Hero. That car really has been a hero. The fact alone that I was its owner, a girl who barely remembers to get oil changed and who considers it a common occurrence to run into garage walls, makes it a hero. In my three and a half years of owning it, the only problem has been a leaky roof and an old alternator. So I was a little sad at the idea of giving it to a car auction, letting strangers stare and poke and judge it with little forgiveness for its minor flaws.

Then came a little miracle for today. My friend, Tyler, said that he would just take it for me and fix it up and then sell it to a nice person. Granted, my car will still be going to a stranger, but it just feels so much more comforting. It's like I've just been told my childhood teddy bear is going to a niece or nephew instead of Good Will. And that is my happiness for today.

And Hero, I hope whatever comes next for you brings you a lot of adventure with lots more oil and lots less garage walls.

Mini Miracles

Sometimes the smallest things are miracles. We can search for huge spectacular moments, but until we can find the beauty and magic in life all around us we will never feel the happiness we are capable of feeling.

Here is a great example of this very thing. Ashley and I took a trip to hike Iron Mountain. We heard stories of how amazing it was, full of flowers, butterflies and breathtaking views. Since Ashley is moving to Washington, DC, we had to try one more adventure before she leaves, and thought, " 2.5 mile hike, no problem."

To start off, we missed our exit and got a little confused about where to go - so the hour and a half car trip turned into a three and a half hour trip. After finally reaching the trail head we were both pretty tired but got ourselves together and started the hike.

Right away we saw flowers and had our cameras out to take a picture of every variety. For me that didn't last longer than five different flowers. The trail was steep and windy. Not being experienced hikers, we were struggling to say the least. On top of being worn out, there were bugs! Lots of flies and spiders. If there is one thing I can't stand it's spiders, and the flies were so persistent. I think they have games with each other of who can make the human go crazy. Ashley was a very good sport listening to my frequent rants about how much I hate flies and spiders. I felt all of the trouble might be worth it if there were just butterflies, but the butterflies were always too far away and wouldn't stay still long enough for pictures.

After two hours of the sweating and panting we made it to the top. Once we were there it was amazing! We could see for miles and miles with four different mountain ranges in our view. While looking over the railing a beautiful little butterfly landed right in front me and stayed long enough for great pictures. Ashley said "that was a little miracle just for you." It really was. We spent the rest of our time taking fun pictures, laughing and really enjoying ourselves. When it was all done we were so glad we went.

As much fun as we had, looking back I can't help but think of how much more enjoyable that hike up Iron Mt. would have been if we had looked for the little miracles all around us. Instead of focusing on the bugs and the heat we could have been reveling in the beauty of the flowers and the spectacular views and the company of a great friend. We always have the choice to make life fun and are given little pick-me-ups as a boost just like that little butterfly.

As each new day comes, or even each new minute, we can look at life with new hopeful happy eyes and find the mini miracles.