This week on Wake Up Laughing...

You'll have to visit HERE to see what I was up to all week.

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Have you been to the new blog lately?

Been posting all week on the new blog - check it out!

• Because Happiness Hides in a Moment
  
  
• TGIF Gratitude: 2.20.2009
  

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Weekend Gratitude: 2/15/2009

Click the headline to be taken to Wake Up Laughing at Wordpress.

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Happiness = First Wordpress Post

Check it out!

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Happiness = Trying something new!

I've decided to move my blog to Wordpress. I am still setting things up and tweaking so I'll post updates and such here for a bit longer while I move things over.

Click here to see Wake Up Laughing on Wordpress.

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Gratitude: 2/12/2009

1. Paying bills.
2. Tax returns.
3. Sean is so excited about his new 'toy'.
4. Getting to finish my grad program before it disappears.
5. That I can speak up and perhaps help keep it around.
6. Advocacy.
7. Service.
8. Advisers and professors who seem to always be available.
9. Patience.
10. Sean's patience.
11. Distance learning.
12. Listening to Sean putting C to bed (story time, babbling, giggles, sometimes a lullaby... Sweet sounds).
13. Kissing H goodnight. Making her laugh into her sweet dreams.
14. Restoring some order in the kitchen.
15. My to-do list.
16. Planning C's first birthday party.
17. Love.
18. Acting as I would feel.
19. Just about 1.5 months of my happiness project. :)
20. Calling landscapers for quotes.
    

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Gratitude: 2/10/2009

1. The joy of silly things.
2. Call with my mentor.
3. Advocacy.
4. Rich class discussion.
5. That I'm in the right program(s).
6. Prayer and meditation.
7. Sean.
8. Discussing with Sean whether computer code is language.
9. Checking out Wordpress to see if it's worth it to move from Blogger.
10. Authentic conversations.
11. Humility.
12. Picking up pre-prepared meals even though it drives the grocery bill up (it's still cheaper than eating out when I don't want to cook).
13. Stability.
14. Reading Gaming: Essays on Algorithmic Culture.
15. Carpooling.
16. Driving safe in the rain.
17. Noticing again how the universe has a sense of humor: I remembered my umbrella when we left the house but forgot it when Sean and I switched cars so I still had to walk to class in the rain. (Managed to stay a little dry with the help of Sean's Transformers hat, I felt very cool.)
    
18. How when I wear one, it's not so much a scarf as a place to spill my coffee.
19. Watching Heroes with Sean when I got home from class.
20. H & C.
    

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Weekend Gratitude: 2/8/2009

1. Lunch at the Farm Grill.
2. Roasted vegetables.
3. Going to bed earlier.
4. Getting up earlier.
   
5. Keeping up with homework.
6. Riding my bike to pick up creamer and juice instead of driving.
7. Exercise.
8. Eating healthier (sometimes).
9. Good times at the Kimchee Daddy's birthday party.
10. Rain in the desert.
11. Our home.
12. Really goofy texts from my dad (wonder where I get it from, hmmm...).
    
13. Homemade chicken salad.
14. Listening.
15. Reliable babysitting.
16. Chatting with other moms and moms-to-be.
17. Remembering what it's like to be the oldest daughter.
18. Applying that to try and understand what H must feel like sometimes.
19. Learning about myself, how to channel my energy positively.
    
20. Watching C play with other kids.
    

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Gratitude: 2/5/2009

1. Fresh fruit/vegetable juice for breakfast.
2. Eating tomatoes and avocado with C.
3. Salad with grilled chicken for dinner.
4. Roasted brussel sprouts.
5. Asparagus soup.
6. Taking advantage of double ad day at Sprouts.
7. Recycling grocery bags.
8. Reusable grocery bags.
9. Letting myself off the hook cause C is still waking me up at night.
10. Supporting Sean on his new endeavor.
11. Talking together about how interesting and fun it is to learn something new and being excited to share new experiences.
12. Playing video games with Sean last night.
13. How he sometimes lets me win, even though I like to talk crap.
14. Doing homework today.
15. Ravelry for knit/crochet patterns.
16. Crochet sock pattern - speaking of learning something new... I can't wait to get started!
17. Sleep.
18. Doing homework.
19. Laughing with H.
20. Talking with H.
    

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Gratitude: 2/3/2009

1. Taking a walk at the Riparian Institute yesterday morning with C.
2. Going to the library.
3. Checking out audiobooks (Blink, and The Geography of Bliss).
4. February's resolutions!
5. One month of my happiness project.
6. We filed our taxes!
   
7. Public programs.
8. Doing homework in spite of the tiredness.
9. I don't have to be totally engaged in the material, just getting through the reading is enough for today.
10. It's not all or nothing.
11. http://books.google.com freakin ROCKS.
12. Sean kept the outside lights on for me till I got home from class.
13. My grad program and getting to go discuss fantastic subjects with such awesome, intelligent people.
    
14. Learning from others.
15. Listening.
16. Learning.
17. Laughing.
18. Almost pouring myself a cup full of ranch dressing last night instead of a drink because I was so tired I didn't realize what I was doing.
19. Cracking up with Sean about it.
20. A good night's sleep.
    

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Month one of Happiness (or: One Month of Happiness) (Or: It's February)

So, I made it one month! If I had to assign a word to January to sum up the first month of my happiness project, I'd have to say: Splendid. Perfect? Nope - not remotely! Overall, it went really well even with the start of a new semester, frequently not sleeping through the night, and a case of mastitis (nursing mothers beware, not fun). I feel like this month I managed to make some sustained changes.

January's resolutions revolved around Order. It was a wonderful way to start the year. I divided my resolutions into two categories initially:

General Resolutions Create frequently. No new books. Shop local. Cultivate poverty. De-clutter. Wear my hair down. Put on makeup. Eat healthy. Be active. Give.

January Resolutions Make the bed. Clear my closets. Tackle a nagging task. Restore, maintain, organize. Use my to-do list. Identify the problem. Follow the “one-minute rule.” Observe the evening tidy-up.

By mid-month a few of the General Resolutions had been combined into January's, and some had to be dropped all together. One of the things I've learned about happiness - I must be both disciplined and flexible. I used charts to keep a daily log of which resolutions I kept everyday and I was most successful at:

• Implementing an evening tidy-up (which also led to a morning tidy-up as well, very nice)
  
• Making the bed.
• Tackle a nagging task.
  
• Using my to-do list.
• Creating frequently (sometimes this meant getting creative with dinner, sometimes it meant a knit/crochet project that could be finished in a day or two, sometimes it was a blog post, etc.).
  
• Wearing my hair down.
• Finally, by the end of the month I was also focusing on eating healthier and getting the baby out for a walk in the mornings.

I had to stop worrying about the "clear my closets" and "following the one-minute rule" resolutions all together. Those just weren't happening and I started to feel guilty for the lack of stars in those columns. However, instead of wasting energy trying to fit those in (especially as I started to get sick), I decided to focus on what was actually going well and make sure I kept it up. In the General Resolution's category I realized things like "shop local" and "no new books" were related to "cultivating poverty." And, "cultivating poverty" is really more of a commandment than a resolution so back to the drawing board on that one...

The week I got sick things fell apart, the dishes were piling up, the bed wasn't made, and I was *NOT HAPPY.* But, I learned from it. After a few days of letting everything go and being discouraged, I got over myself. Even though I didn't feel better yet, I decided to get back into my routine. An evening of reviewing my commandments got me back into the swing of things, I think. I remembered that I would "do it now and finish it," and even though I felt physically horrible from the infection I managed to find it within myself to "act as I would feel."

It worked, though it wasn't easy. I took one day to suck it up and stick to as many resolutions as possible. By the next day, I had gotten a decent night's sleep, the antibiotics started doing their thing, and order was restored. I also had a very neat realization through this process: There was a time when a set back like getting sick, or starting a new school semester, would have been too much for me to keep my resolutions going. So far this year, I have been able to handle those changes and stick to my project - Happiness!

Ok, I'm off to review February's resolutions. I'll post about those tomorrow.

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Weekend Gratitude: 2/1/2009

1. Seeing how excited Sean is to be learning something new.
2. Supporting him, encouraging him, and getting to share his excitement.
3. Getting 100% on my first online quiz.
4. I was tired and I cleaned the kitchen anyway.
5. Funny twitter and Facebook conversations with friends that I don't get to see very often.
6. Reading in @AmyPR's Facebook notes that she can't keep track of my last name... LMAO
7. C walking all over and trying to run.
8. Watching her teeter and toter as she's learning how to balance on two tiny feet.
9. Zucchini soup for dinner.
10. With grilled chicken.
11. H had a new friend sleeping over.
12. Sleep.
13. Kimchee Mama took the time to write a guest post for me.
14. And then was unafraid enough to let me post it.
15. Phone call with Codi.
16. Phone calls from Becca.
17. Detachment with love.
18. A Year of CrockPotting.
19. 29 Day Giving Challenge.
20. Laughing with Sean every day.
21. A hot shower.
22. Having fun at the Kimchee Kid's birthday on Saturday.
23. Fun words like "Fisticuffs."
24. Keeping "office hours" 2 days in a row and focusing on my paper.
25. Taking a walk this morning with H and C.
    

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