Day 49, 100 Happy Days: Facilitating Creative Healing

No pics of the class, but here is the cute kitty I'm sitting.

Today was the first Artist's Way class of the new session (first of 13 classes), and it was just amazing.
I had a hunch it was going to be a really good, cohesive group, and it seems I was right. This group feels like it was meant to be together.

It's a privilege to be able to facilitate the creative healing for these women (this class happens to be all women).

Today was a meet-and- greet, plus an overview of the class. Each person introduced herself and stated where she is creatively, and what she hopes to get out of the course.

I've been holding this class for several years now, and it is really wonderful to watch people progress over the weeks. Today I got to hear about where people are creatively, and sometimes where they are generally in life. It's great to hear that and to have some idea of where they will be at the end of the thirteen weeks. It's like having foresight; I know that if they put the work in - even minimally - that they will be a better place than when they started.

It's exciting to watch happen.

Happy!

Day 45, 100 Happy Days: Happy Dog + Repaired Car

This blurred cutie.

I was walking along, minding my own business, when what do I see but the sweetest puppy, stationed outside the neighborhood pub. This little one was the official greeter, and giver/receiver of love. SO sweet!

Unfortunately she/he was so excited and happy to be getting loves from yet another person, that I couldn't get a good pic. But that's okay. I was just happy to hang out for a few minutes with such a wonderful being.

Day 45 Bonus: My car is fixed!

My neighbors will love me again (or at least won't hate me anymore) because my squeaky belt was fixed. And my stinky exhaust leak was fixed, as was my leaky tire. Check engine light is off, parking brake adjusted. All for less money than expected, and in less time than expected.

Tabetha is happy. :)

100 Happy Days Again! Day One: Pet Sitting

I had such a good experience doing my Happiness Project at the beginning of this year, and I've been wanting to do it again. For some reason, it's not the easiest thing for me to start. It's not the looking for - and finding things that make me happy that I find difficult. It's the actual blogging about it - which is a very important part of the process for me. It's what keeps me on track.
So here I am.
December 1st seems the perfect time to start. I tend to get a bit gloomy around the holidays (although so far so good this year), and I figure if I start looking for things that make me happy now, perhaps I can skate through Christmas and New Years feeling better than usual.

Perk of pet-sitting: seeing the sun rise.

Day One: Pet Sitting
I've been pet/house sitting for the last several years. Not only am I paid to stay at people's lovely houses and take care of their wonderful pets, but it also allows me the opportunity to shake things up in my life.
Being self employed and a natural life-long night owl, I tend to run about four hours behind everyone else. While a lot of people get up at 5:00 or 6:00, I get up at 9:00 or 10:00. And I really like it that way! However, I think it's good to change things up every once in awhile.

When I pet sit, I'm pretty much on the animal's schedule. If the dog is up, I'm up. Right now I'm sitting a dog whose mom is an early bird, so the dog gets up with the sun. This means I'm up before the sun (if you can believe that), to get myself up and ready for the wild puppy energy.

The best thing about getting up so early? Yes, getting a jump on the day is nice but I'm loving those sunrises! Gorgeous. So, there I am at 6:30am, bundled up, throwing a ball to a dog, and letting that sunrise make me happy. Oh yeah, and this guy... this guy makes me happy too...

Yup... and this sweet girl....

Happiness Project Day 68: TARDIS Sighting, Friendly Kitty, and Happy Rock Salt

TARDIS on a Truck

Today as I was doing my weekly dog walk, I happened upon the TARDIS, right here in Denver. Or Glendale, as the case may be. And by TARDIS, I mean a piece of plywood painted to look like the TARDIS, stuck onto the back of a truck. Still pretty cool, though! Nice to know there are fellow Whovians around. (In case you don't know, the TARDIS is that blue police box that Doctor Who uses to travel through space and time. It's bigger on the inside.)

Then, walking in the park, I came across some rock salt perfectly arranged as a smiley face. I'm guessing that some kid did it, and made me smile. Thanks, kid!

Then when I got home, I was greeted at my car by my neighbor's sweet little kitty. So tiny and friendly. I just wanted to scoop her up and take her home.

Happy, friendly kitty.

Happy Rock Salt

My Happiness Project Day 48: Sweet Little Animal Friends

This little bird!
Coco and I have been friends for the past 24 years - just about as long as I've been friends with her mom. We've had our ups and downs... she used to like to bite me when I changed her food and water (Coco... not her mom). But now we're buds. I sing and she dances. We have fun!

This is Fiona, one of Coco's kitty sisters. We've been buds for awhile, too. I'm pretty allergic to her, but she's so furry and sweet that I can't help petting her. And then I suffer the consequences. But it's worth it!

My Happiness Project Day 45: Little Birds and Tree Roots

 

These little birds made me happy today. Yes, there is a filter on the photo making everything look bright and happy. In reality it was a gray and somewhat snowy day, but it felt more like the filtered picture to me. So... I don't exactly have rose colored glasses, but I do have my happy filter!

Also... more tree roots. (I don't know why, but I just dig trees. Roots, bark, leaves, branches... love it all!) The faces in this one are amazing.

My Happiness Project Day 44: Opposite Dogs, Elusive Rooster Cats and Tree Roots

I like that after 44 days of this I can say that looking for things to make me happy is such a habit that I find them everywhere without really looking. The down side to that is that there aren't all that many things that stand out as big happy moments, but... I'll take it.

Today I walked the fluffiest of little fluffy dogs, and we ran into the the the biggest bulldog I've seen. He was off-leash and came galloping across the street to meet us. Bodhi - my fluffy buddy- is a bit skittish anyway, and was quite intimidated by this burly dog who was no taller than him. Of course he was just a big old love bug. Too bad I didn't get a picture of those completely opposite dogs together.




In other animal related happy moments, I finally met the cat of the house where I'm sitting. She's been very elusive, but finally came out of hiding tonight and is as sweet as can be. But the really great thing about her? She sounds like a little rooster when she meows!
Hilarious.





These totally amazing tree roots made me very happy, too. And finding the PS Express app on my iPhone that made the roots look even more beautiful, made me happy, too.

My Happiness Project Day 28: Springboks Pronking

Yep. Springboks pronking. Or pronking springboks. (Springboks who pronk?) Whatever the case, I like to say it, and I like to watch it. Truthfully, before today I had never heard of springboks or pronking, yet here they are making me happy. I challenge you to watch this video and NOT be happy! I smiled the whole way through.

Hang in there, peeps - spring is on the way, and soon we'll be pronking, too!