Tag Archives: happiness

Forty Six Years in and Still Madly in Love

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….yesterday my husband and I celebrated our 46th wedding anniversary

Whenever I tell people how long Kevin and I have been married they always gasp in wonderment. Don’t get me wrong it hasn’t always been wine and roses but we’ve always worked together as partners and when things were tough we didn’t give up on each other. Not only do we love each other but we truly like each other. That became very apparent during the lockdowns with COVID. It’s amazing how many couples found it difficult to be together 24/7.

The last twelve years have been difficult for Kevin with all his health issues but he keeps on ticking and keeps trying new diets and medications. Right now he looks fantastic and if you saw him yesterday you’d have no idea that he is suffering from several chronic ailments. The key word here is chronic, so he has good days and some bad days. Luckily I’ve stayed relatively healthy and my biggest issue is how much my weight fluctuates up and down (mostly up). Kevin always says he loves me at any weight but when I do try to lose weight he is also very supportive.

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Share Your World – October 16, 2017

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…… thanks Cee for hosting Share Your World

If you had to move to a country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why? 

I think I would move to Italy, in the hills of Tuscany or Assisi. I loved the serenity while I was there but I might miss being close to water.

What color would you like your bedroom to be?

I’ve lived with this horrible grey for so long and I agonized over what colour to replace it with.  I’ve purchased a rich cream colour but the thought of having to move everything to paint over this dreary grey has held me back.

What makes you Happy? Make a list of things in your life that bring you joy.

  1. My husband and children and granddaughter
  2. My friends
  3. Making Art
  4. Taking photographs
  5. My cottage
  6. Talking to and visiting my sisters
  7. Travelling with my husband
  8. Baking for my father
  9. Reading a good book
  10. Listening to great music

What inspired you or what did you appreciate this past week?  Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination. 

I’ve appreciated the warm temperatures that we’ve experienced this past week. October  has had all kinds of weather but it’s been mostly warm. Even on overcast days I’ve been able to get out for my walks with the dog and take some great photos.

I got together with some friends last week. I think the one thing about being retired that I miss is the daily interaction with colleagues, so when I do get together with friends it’s extra special, even if it’s just to talk and do some errands together.

Every week I try to get to Hamilton to spend time with our granddaughter, Winnie, and give her mother a bit of a break. Last week she let me take her for a walk down her street   after the three of us shared a treat at the local coffee shop.

I always appreciate when my husband cooks dinner, which is most of the time but last week he made pizzas from scratch, which he hasn’t done for awhile. We weren’t sure how Dad would like the fig and mozzarella pizza so he made two different pizzas. Dad loved both of them.

 

Share Your World 2016 – Week 35

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…..thanks to Cee for hosting Share Your World

List 2 things you have to be happy about?

There are many things to be happy about, good health, being mortgage free, being married for 41 years, having a great job, etc. but two things do stand out for me. The first is that all my children are in happy, loving relationships and the second is the joy that our granddaughter brings us.

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If you could take a photograph, paint a picture or write a story of any place in the world, what and where would it be?

There are many places that I would love to paint, photograph and write about but the one place that I seem to blog about a lot is the cottage. Our little residence in paradise has brought us much pleasure and fond memories and I look forward to my stay there every summer.

Should children be seen and not heard?

Children should definitely be heard but there is a difference between being delightfully vocal and miserably disruptive. We were always very lucky with our own children. We could take them out to dinner and they knew how to behave in public. Too often parents ignore bad behaviour and often condone it and have no regard for the people around them who have come to a place to relax or enjoy a quiet meal.

List at least five of your favorite first names.

Girls names I like:

Winnie, Katherine (Kate, Katie), Abigail, Lydia, Willow, Josephine, Christina, Alessia

Boys names I like:

Michael, Brendan, Mark, Paul, Peter, William,  Jack, Christopher

Names that can be either male or female:

Gaelan, Andrea, Josie, Avery, Morgan

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I’m grateful for a small but wonderful birthday party that my children and husband hosted for me. It was just the immediate family but the food was amazing and the gifts that they showered me with were very thoughtful and generous. More and more, time spent with family is becoming increasingly important to me as I get older.

I’m also grateful for four days spent with my daughter and daughter-in-law at the cottage.  We swam, sun bathed, read, played board games and cooked up some great meals. We also attended the Pow Wow and stopped at the Cookstown Antique Market on the way home.

This week I’m looking forward to getting my nails done with my good friend L and hopefully having my hair cut and coloured before I start back to school next week.

Share Your World 2016 – Week 5

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…..thank you Cee for four more thought provoking questions

If you had a shelf for your three most special possessions (not including photos, electronic devices and things stored on them, people or animals), what would you put on it?

I don’t own many family heirlooms. My mother was very much a bare bones kind of person when it came to decorating the house. She, herself, didn’t own a lot of special possessions because so much of what they owned was lost in the war so growing up the only things I remember my mother cherishing were her photo albums. When I got married my grandmother gifted me a blue decanter that she managed to save from the bombings and when my mother passed the only thing that I wanted was an old silver serving spoon with the date 1909 stamped on it and the initials WS. The third item would be a collection of things my children made over the years, such as, paintings, photography assignments and hand made toys. IMGP0035

If you had a box labelled ‘happiness’, what would you put in it? 

I would fill it with photos of my family, music, paintings and art supplies and books.

What do you want more of in your life?

I want to travel more, spend more time painting and take classes to learn new art techniques. I also want to spend more time with my family. If I had unlimited resources I would travel with my family and visit my family across the ocean.

Daily Life List: What do you do on an average day? Make a list of your usual activities you do each day.

  1. My husband wakes me up at 6:30 and brings me a cup of coffee.
  2. I shower and get ready for work.
  3. I eat breakfast.
  4. I leave the house between 7:25 and 7:50 (earlier when I have basketball practice).
  5. I arrive at school between 7:45 and 8:10.
  6. I have another cup of coffee and socialize with colleagues before the school day begins at 8:30.
  7. My first period is usually a prep and then I have my first library class of the day.
  8. During recess children help me in the library putting books away.
  9. After recess I have another class or I do library administration work (labelling books, ordering books, putting books away, straightening shelves, removing damaged and old books for recycling, etc.)
  10. Lunch is at 11:15 and I usually bring a lunch from home.
  11. Lunch ends at 12:10 and my afternoon is usually filled teaching library and art.
  12. 3:00 the school day ends but twice a week I do bus duty at this time.
  13. 3:15 to 4:00 I work in the library or during report card time I’m in the office printing and reprinting report cards for the staff.
  14. Anywhere from 4:30 to 5:00 or later I leave for home.
  15. My husband usually makes dinner so when I get home I have a cup of tea or coffee and we talk about our day while he cooks.
  16. At this time I’ll also check my emails.
  17. Dinner is usually around 6:00. Afterwards I usually wash the dishes or we do them together.
  18. My husband goes to watch TV and I spend time on the computer reading and answering more emails and writing new posts for the blog.
  19. On certain nights I will watch some TV and I have started to knit. I also like to read so if there isn’t anything I like on TV I’ll read a book.
  20. At some point in the evening I take the dog for a walk
  21. Anywhere between 11:00 and 12:00 I get ready for bed.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I’m grateful for a wonderful day spent with my granddaughter. The weather has been warm and there is no snow and on the weekend I managed to get in 30 000 steps over two days. I’m also pleased that I’ve finished proof-reading report cards. On Sunday I met up with 7 friends from high school and we had a great lunch at a Thai restaurant. Then two days later I went out for Winterlicious and enjoyed a scrumptious dinner of South American fusion food.

I’m looking forward to a quiet weekend. I’m hoping to relax, buy a dress for my daughter’s wedding and clean a small corner of my bedroom. The thing I’m looking most forward to is the wedding which takes place next Wednesday.

Tea and Panettone
A gift from Australia
Discovering her toes

Share Your World 2015 – Week 11

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……thank you Cee for some easy and some thought provoking questions this week

List 2 things you have to be happy about?

I’m happy to be on vacation. I have time to get a few things done around the house, time to spend with family and friends, time to read and time to make art. I’m also happy for reasons that I cannot share but will in the near future.

Do you prefer ketchup or mustard or mayonnaise?

I like mustard on my hotdogs and sausages, ketchup on my burgers and fries and mayonnaise on my BLTs, turkey sandwiches and sometimes with fries (something I picked up when we were in the Netherlands).IMG_3681

If you were to paint a picture of your childhood, what colors would you use?

I would choose happy and calming colours like blues, greens and yellows with just a dash of red for excitement.

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Do you prefer a bath or shower?

I always prefer a shower. Long hot ones in the winter and cooler showers on hot summer days. I have a hard time with a bath because I find that the water cools too quickly and the thought of sitting in dirty water isn’t my idea of relaxing. I guess that’s why the Japanese wash before they get into the tub.

If I wanted a bath it would be in a nice deep tub like this one.

If I wanted a bath it would be in a nice deep tub like this one.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I’m grateful for the warmer weather and that all the snow has melted away. I’m also happy that the last week of school finally came to an end and I’m looking forward to a week of rest and relaxation.

Buying Things for Others Makes Me Happy

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…..especially when it’s not my money

Every year in the library we host a book fair and all the profits go to buying more books for the library and to support the curriculum across different grades and subjects. I had a nice sum of money from the last two book fairs to spend. Routinely the company that runs the fairs sends me catalogues and flyers of all the products that they sell. When I see something that I think would benefit a class or a specialty teacher I pass it on to see if there is any interest.

Today I actually found the time to order everything that a number of teachers expressed an interest in and the best part is that I still have more than half of my credits left. I’m looking forward to approaching more staff to help me spend the rest of the money. I love children’s books and I know it will feel like my birthday when this order comes in. So far half the order will stay in the library and the rest will go into different classrooms.

I have students that are library helpers and they love helping me unpack new books. Next week when this order comes in I’ll have a group of very happy children.

Yesterday I went to a meeting for girls’ soccer and track and field. The good news is that extra-curricular sports are back in the TDSB and I’ve volunteered to coach soccer again. So on days when I’m not coaching Girls on the Run, I’ll be out with the soccer team. Luckily I have some parents that are eager to help me coach the girls and their expertise and dedication are greatly appreciated.

The third reason to be happy today is that the temperatures went into the double digits today and I was able to wear my spring jacket. We had our best day so far for Girls on the Run until the rain started but we were able to get in most of the run before we had to head back inside. It looks like the rain is going to stay with us for a few days and unfortunately we’re being threatened wit a winter storm warning. Really???????

Anyway, new books, warmer temperatures (even if only for a day) and bringing  back extra-curricular sports are in my Happiness File today.

Cheers!

My Happiness File

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…. I’m going to try something new 

I came across an interesting article about the benefits of gratitude. The author, Linzi Wilson talks about how every day she writes down three things that make her happy that day. It could be as simple as a smile from a stranger, a compliment from a friend or enjoying a favourite food. Perhaps you received an unexpected gift or achieved a goal that you’ve been working on. The idea is to write down what makes you happy.

Here is a list of Linzi’s benefits of recording your happy moments:http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-8048/want-a-5-minute-practice-that-will-change-your-life.html

Here are my top three reasons for starting your gratitude practice today:
  • When you get into the habit of appreciating things, you tend to see life with a fresher, more optimistic perspective. Who doesn’t want that?
  • You’ll start creating a blueprint of what makes you happy. Certain things will keep popping up again and again. They say success leaves clues… Well, happiness does too.
  • Your journal will serve as a beautiful reminder. Whenever I’m having a sucky moment, I can take some time out and read through random entries. It always brings a smile to my face.

I’ve decide to use this blog to record my “Happiness File”.

Here is one thing that made me happy so far today:

Recently the school was gifted a large number of cheap digital cameras to use with the students. I didn’t have very much success with the camera itself until today. I’m happy to say that I was able to get some pretty good pictures from this simple, shoot and point camera. Now I have to come up with a project that uses these cameras. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Here are a few pictures from the camera.

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What makes you happy?