christmas decor,

hello my darling penelope, i'm up later than i should be admiring how well my manicure is holding up. under 2 top coats. it was a good choice. the pink is softer than i'd like but it'll do. i did it myself of course. oh and yes, did a full treatment of the 'nads'... it worked amazing on my legs, and hurt like hell on my underams but it works like a dream. and i can imagine getting good at it or if i ever have money am now convinced waxing is fun... but it's not great on my sideburns and the dreaded face hair but oh well. it killed a couple hours while i distractedly pasted the goo on and got my fingers sticky. i know you wanted to know. all that talk on the sub-conscious and gratitude...

as suggested: ok, so this is all the christmas cheer i can take i think- though i've even been listening to christmas music if you would buhlieve-- distractedly as i sit by the computer and WAIT. i know its small consolation that you and i are living out advent in real time.

i'm more in love with this tree then i've been in love with anything in a while. i literally smile everytime i see it. i sigh when i turn the lights on. i want to hug it everytime i come near it. love i tell you. love.

you will note the kitty in the tree. mom predicted she would climb it and yes, there she is summiting bravely.

find the kitty...

this is the copper nativity i did- it's small- 1/2 dollar size, and the sparkly star- mmm glitter, mom made the form for. i did not get a good pic of the camels and the wisemen amber did but they were good too. i know, it was, well it all is a shocking display of productivity after months of not much... i do mean months. so the fact i did a couple necklaces, did my nails, made pillows and moved some plants around, and put up lights is saying something.

 mom made these and they're fantastic- amber's idea and then mom expertly executed... she is good at the small christmas gift... and i've just decided my freedom lies in not thinking about what to give whom no matter how much i love them. maybe one day... but anyway onto christmastide and 2012.

weeks later

One tiny thing that disappointed me about the “Grey’s Anatomy” finale (and this is only a tiny spoiler, Andria, shouldn’t affect your experience of watching it in August ;) is that Izzie, when she went to her day-dreamy Happy Place, escaped to the beach. I know, it’s a small, practically inconsequential point of contention. But to me, it seemed a little… cliché? I get that she’s a doctor, spends all her time in a hospital, and so her happy place could very logically be sprawled out in a chaise, wearing a bikini and taking in the sound of the waves. It’s a lot people’s idea of bliss, I guess. I just felt like the writers could have been a little more original? Or maybe that would have detracted from the rest of the plot.

Anyway, it got me thinking about what my Happy Place would be, should I require some mental escape, i.e. in the dentist chair, or whatever. It definitely wouldn’t be the beach, because while I love the waves and the shells and the sounds and the smells, it just makes me think of sand on my sunglasses and sunburned skin, self-consciousness and dehydration in 1 hour or less. I know. Ridiculous. But laying out at the beach is not the most relaxing time in the world for a fair-skinned, sensitive soul such as myself. I think I’d transport myself mentally to the Italian countryside.

Give me some rolling Tuscan hills, please. Some chickens and goats, and olive trees. A villa with a big kitchen… I’ll make meals there, and bread, and maybe even cheese. And obviously there will be a garden as well as a winery in this place. The means, essentially, to make all our food. It may not even have any modern conveniences… we may have to do everything by hand. It may take all day to do one little thing.

Sometimes I kind of think I’d like a world where saving time wasn’t a choice… It might be relaxing. Less complicated. And a richer overall experience? Perhaps. Either way, it would be beautiful and amazing there, I’m convinced in my mind—which is all that matters, in terms of the whole idea of “escape.”

Where is your Happy Place?

Animal Facts Thursday, just to mix you up

(By pen.)

THE HUMAN ANIMAL, in regards to Human Happiness. This information is ripped directly from Get Rich Slowly, a site I stumbled on by chance the other day. I’m not sure I agree with it all, but here are a few excerpts of interest from the post:

The psychology of happiness
Several years ago, James Montier, a “global equity strategist”, publish[ed] a brief overview of existing research into the psychology of happiness [PDF]. Montier learned that happiness comprises three components:

• About 50% of individual happiness comes from a genetic set point. That is, we’re each predisposed to a certain level of happiness. Some of us are just naturally more inclined to be cheery than others.
• About 10% of our happiness is due to our circumstances. Our age, race, gender, personal history, and, yes, wealth, only make up about one-tenth of our happiness.
• The remaining 40% of an individual’s happiness seems to be derived from intentional activity, from “discrete actions or practices that people can choose to do”.

If we have no control over our genetic “happy point”, and if we have little control over our circumstances, then it makes sense to focus on those things that we can do to make ourselves happy. According to Montier’s paper, these activities include sex, exercise, sleep, and close relationships.

What does not bring happiness? Money, and the pursuit of happiness for its own sake. “A vast array of individuals seriously over-rate the importance of money in making themselves, and others, happy,” Montier writes. “Study after study from psychology shows that money doesn’t equal happiness.”

13 steps to a better life
If money won’t bring you happiness, what will? How can you stop making yourself miserable and start learning to love life? According to my research, these are the thirteen actions most likely to encourage happiness:

1. Don’t compare yourself to others. Financially, physically, and socially, comparing yourself to others is a trap. You will always have friends who have more money than you do, who can run faster than you can, who are more successful in their careers. Focus on your own life, on your own goals.
2. Foster close relationships. People with five or more close friends are more apt to describe themselves as happy than those with fewer.
3. Have sex. Sex, especially with someone you love, is consistently ranked as a top source of happiness. A long-term loving partnership goes hand-in-hand with this.
4. Get regular exercise. There’s a strong tie between physical health and happiness. Anyone who has experienced a prolonged injury or illness knows just how emotionally devastating it can be. Eat right, exercise, and take care of our body.
5. Obtain adequate sleep. Good sleep is an essential component of good health. When you’re not well-rested, your body and your mind do not operate at peak capacity. Your mood suffers.
6. Set and pursue goals. I believe that the road to wealth is paved with goals. More than that, the road to happiness is paved with goals. Continued self-improvement makes life more fulfilling.
7. Find meaningful work. There are some who argue a job is just a job. I believe that fulfilling work is more than that — it’s a vocation. It can take decades to find the work you were meant to do. But when you find it, it can bring added meaning to your life.
8. Join a group. Those who are members of a group, like a church congregation, experience greater happiness. But the group doesn’t have to be religious. Join a book group. Meet others for a Saturday morning bike ride. Sit in at the knitting circle down at the yarn shop.
9. Don’t dwell on the past. I know a guy who beats himself up over mistakes he’s made before. Rather than concentrate on the present (or, better yet, on the future), he lets the past eat away at his happiness. Focus on the now.
10. Embrace routine. Research shows that although we believe we want variety and choice, we’re actually happier with limited options. It’s not that we want no choice at all, just that we don’t want to be overwhelmed. Routines help limit choices. They’re comfortable and familiar and, used judiciously, they can make us happy.
11. Practice moderation. Too much of a good thing is a bad thing. It’s okay to indulge yourself on occasion — just don’t let it get out of control. Addictions and compulsions can ruin lives.
12. Be grateful. It’s no accident that so many self-help books encourage readers to practice gratitude. When we regularly take time to be thankful for the things we have, we appreciate them more. We’re less likely to take them for granted, and less likely to become jealous of others.
13. Help others. Over and over again, studies have shown that altruism is one of the best ways to boost your happiness. Sure, volunteering at the local homeless shelter helps, but so too does just being nice in daily life.

this just makes me happy, by pen

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

i've lost my happy place

I am (how many times have I said this?) a person who needs a lot of downtime. I need a lot of downtime! And it's not just that I'm lately overcommitted with outings and get-togethers and my own self-imposed, ever-growing and totally daunting to-do list. I need the mental escape, or else I become mental. I mean, it's a really hard thing to take away from a person, like even if you were in prison and got in trouble and had to sit in The Hole for a month, at least you'd have your thoughts. Or maybe that would be a bad thing. Maybe I've just seen Shawshank Redemption too many times and am way too enamored with that Mozart scene. But that's always been a source of solace for me, the ability, the right, the capacity to self-reflect. Recently, I seem to have lost my little happy place where I go to think. If I could just have it back for a little bit each day even. Could we work out a visitation schedule? Or do I need to pay a ransom.

Missing: Pen's Happy Place

General Description: Reflection, pondering, deep thoughts like Jack Handy. A little quiet. No screaming or whining. A period of true solitude, however brief. The freedom to blog and email, connect with the outside world, but also zone out a little. Planning and dreaming. Aspirations. Organization. Patience. A smile. A deep breath, a shower. The sun shining or the rain falling, it doesn't matter, and maybe a gentle breeze.

Suspects in this case: Possibly stolen, kidnapped, trampled, and/or mangled by two very needy small persons. But also maybe it's Pen's fault, for not well enough guarding the Happy Place.

Rescue Plan: Glass of wine, some ear plugs? Dispatch of a search and rescue team. And a concerted effort on Pen's part to demand repossession, to find it and take it back.