Fifty Things That Make Me Happy

My friend Frederick with FredtotheRick blog has challenged all of his followers (me being one) to write a post about fifty things that make us happy.

I am accepting his challenge and extending this challenge to all my followers: Write a blog post about “Fifty Things That Make You Happy.”

1. When I get to sleep as long as I need to sleep to feel completely rested.

2. When it rains and I don’t have to water my outdoor plants.

3. When I get a package in the mail and it being properly delivered.

4. Retirement.

5. Freedom.

6. When everything in my life is peaceful and calm (no drama).

7. Enjoying cups of hot coffee each morning. Mmmm…

8. Knowing I will skip number 8 just because I can.

9. Drinking a coke.

10. Watching my hummingbirds.

11. Knowing my hummingbirds are comfortable with me being around them.

12. Feeling safe and protected.

13. My country (even though it is sometimes dysfunctional).

14. Listening to beautiful soothing music.

15. Being in the mountains with the fresh mountain air.

16. Being around animals.

17. My little dog, Bria.

18. Having a clean conscience.

19. Finally being able to get something I have wanted for a long long time.

20. When a long lost friends returns.

21. Beautiful sunny days when it is neither too hot or too cold.

22. All my friends on WordPress.

23. All my friends.

24. Going out for breakfast.

25. Peace of mind

26. Having all those “hard” years behind me.

27. Those “aha” moments.

28. A really good book

29. A really good movie.

30. Visiting my kids and grandkids

31. Writing flash fiction

32. Hummingbirds (Did I say hummingbirds?)I love hummingbirds

33. Learning something new

34. Learning something new to improve my blog

35. My blogging friends

36. Ice Cream

37. Saying the same thing twice because I can.

38. Freedom (saying Freedom twice because it is so high value).

39. A very nice delicious dinner that someone else cooked.

40. Spring

41. That moment when you know winter is over.

42. A nice comfortable bed.

43. A nice ‘down’ pillow.

44. Talking to my family.

45. My children and grandchildren!

46. Making new blogging friends.

47. Making new friends.

48. Bright pretty flowers.

49. My Lilac bushes when they bloom.

50. Just because there is a lot to be happy about.

51. Funny jokes.

 

Nurturing Thursday

Every Thursday, Becca Givens, author of the fabulous blog, On Dragonfly Wings with Buttercup Tea, hosts Nurturing Thursday. Nurturing Thursday is a way for each of us to nurture ourselves and each other while in this hectic and sometimes chaotic life we live.

If you are interested in joining Nurturing Thursday, please read her post:

https://beccagivens.wordpress.com/2015/01/08/nurturing-thurs-messengers/

 

This is my Nurturing Thursday contribution. I chose this because lately, I have had to set boundaries in order to “nurture myself.”

Pinterest Image

I wanted to add this cartoon just for laughs

(because laughing is always the best medicine).

Google Image

HappyHappy JoyJoy

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Happy Happy Joy Joy.”

The last time I cried tears of joy? Frankly, I don’t usually cry tears of joy, with the exception of the birth of my children. Those tears came each time I held my beautiful and healthy new baby in my arms. They were tears of joy mixed with tears of relief (the painful labor was over) and the wonderful result was lying in my arms.

I do remember crying tears of joy and relief when I realized the severe depression and paranoia I had been suffering with for years had finally lifted and I could, in fact, feel joy again. My depression had slowly consumed me. It felt as though I was in a pit and suddenly the bottom fell out.

I will never take feeling joy for granted. Not after what I went through. For a very long time I felt that I would never smile again, much less feel joy again.

Many people do not realize that those who suffer severe depression do not have the control to shut it off at their own will. It consumes you and takes control. It does not allow you to “just turn it off.” Particularly if it is caused by a chemical imbalance. In order to overcome it, it takes an enormous amount of work and the correct medication. I believe doctors have become better trained for mental illness and chemical imbalances and that medications have evolved to produce much more satisfying results than they did in years past.

This post is suppose to be about joy and not depression. But, how do you know what joy feels like if you do not also know the pain of sadness?

I can safely say, without a doubt, that true joy is priceless.

To each person reading this, I wish you a very Happy New Year and I wish you the best of everything wonderful.

Peace, Love, JOY and Hugs

PJ

Strangeville

I just finished reading a delightful book, titled, “Strangeville,” by Kenneth Tingle.

Young John has lost his parents to tragedy and finds himself alone and in a dead-end job. He is on his way to commit suicide but finds that he has to “take a crap” first. He worries that if he kills himself, this bodily function will automatically happen and all the creatures of the forest would then come and eat his body. So, he changes his mind and goes back home.

His aunt, who has not talked to him in ten years calls him and invites him to come stay with them. He is happy to take their offer and sets out on a road trip to their home.

Along the way, John becomes lost and ends up in a town called Strangeville. This town is something “somewhat” similar to the lost city of Atlantis. Except this town is not only “off the grid” but is frozen in time. The 1950's to be exact. And the residents have no idea there is an “outside world” out there very different from their own.

Strangeville has a strange and hilarious way of conquering John's desire to die.

All those hillbilly's and hicks in this novel will capture your heart and your imagination as you are taken on a trip through Strangeville – the “Twilight Zone.”

I give this book five stars because I loved every minute of it.

 

Posted with Blogsy

One of Those Days

Sometimes it isn't easy to fight against all the negativity that has come our way in our lifetime. There are days that all that negativity in my life bans together to gang up on me. Today is one of those days.

Do you ever feel like all the harsh words and wrongful deeds ever done to you and all the mistakes that you have made in the past, are all tumbling down on top of you? It sure feels like that to me today. I keep hearing all these negative and hurtful things being said to me and seeing all the mistakes that I have made.

I REFUSE TO LISTEN TO THOSE NEGATIVE THOUGHTS!

Instead, I am allowing the sonshine to fill up my beautiful and tortured soul.

Picture from Pinterest. (Thank you Pinterest).

 

Posted with Blogsy

SPRING is Coming Soon!

This is the very first bush in my yard that blooms preparing for the oncoming Spring Season. This year it bloomed a wee bit early. When this bush blooms it is bright yellow; quite a contrast next to all the other plants that are still dormant and dead looking. These blooms (to me) are always a promise that Spring will be here soon. That makes me happy.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Valentine’s Day

“Love is a verb. Without action, it is just a word.”

Valentine's Day has always been one of my favorite holidays. It's all about love. Yes, it is usually about romantic love, but it is still about love, nonetheless. It is about telling people you care about them and that you love them.

Why do we only have one day a year dedicated to this? Personally, I think it is because it is a reminder to us that we should be doing this every day of the year.

If we were to show and tell our loved ones how much we love and appreciate them every day of the year, how much happier would our lives be? How much happier would their lives would be?

We live most of our lives being “too busy.” Too busy to tell our loved ones how much they mean to us. Too busy to call our parents. Too busy to call our loved ones and tell them we love and miss them.

Many lost opportunities. Opportunities to share our love and feelings with someone else, loved ones who are dear to us. Who will some day no longer be on this earth.

My son calls me about once a year. When I text him, he always texts back (several days later) and tells me he's too busy.

Yes, it makes me sad. But it makes me sad because he has lost so many opportunities. He will only realize these lost opportunties when I have left this earth and there are no opportunities. Maybe it won't bother him. Only he will know.

Are you too busy? Are you so wrapped up in your life and your world to be too busy for your loved ones? Do you only tell them you love them one day a year? Valentine's Day?

 

Long Childbirth and a Happy Ending

When I was pregnant with my son, we lived in a very tiny town in eastern Colorado. This small community was actually very spread out because it consisted of many farmers and ranchers and their large families. The town had a very small hospital and only one physician.

When it was time from my son to be delivered, my husband took me to the hospital. Although my labor pains were not “hard” at that time, as soon as they broke my water, they became severe. The first 5 hours of labor were fairly easy and I felt, “Great! This will be a breeze!” (I spoke too soon). The next 24 hours were excruciating! In the middle of the night, the nurses took me into the delivery room and had me pushing for two hours. As soon as they took me back to my room, they called my doctor. He came rushing to the hospital furious with the nurses for doing this. I was in so much pain and was completely exhausted from all the pushing with no results.

As I struggled on with my labor, I watched my husband being fed “T-bone” steaks from the hospital staff. (All I was allowed was ice chips and jello).

They were giving me injections for pain, but that didn't give me any relief at all.

After almost two days of hard labor, they took me to X-Ray to see what was keeping my baby from being born. Apparently, I had an extra curve in my pelvis. My labor pains were so intense, I was really really struggling, both physically and emotionally.

After being in intense labor and severe pain for over three days, my husband finally told my doctor, if this baby isn't delivered in the next two hours, I demand you to do a C-section. (He had been asking for a C-section for me prior to this). The doctor kept telling him he did not want to do a C-section because if I gave birth naturally, I would be able to give birth naturally to any future babies. “What?!” (Honestly, the only reason I lasted that long was because I had no other choice). Apparently, this was the mindset in a county that is almost all farmers and ranchers with large families.

Three days and seven hours later, with the help of forcepts, our son was born. After the whole delivery process was complete, the feeling I had was PURE BLISS. Thankfully, my baby was healthy and the long birth did not affect him, however, it did affect me. It took me months to recover from that long delivery and I started having panic attacks and anxiety issues.

Inspite of an excruciatingly painful long labor, I had a perfect, healthy, baby. He was born one day before Mother's Day.

At that time, women and babies were kept in the hospital for almost a week. During the time of my hospitalization, the hospital gave my husand and I a “candlight T-Bone steak dinner with wine” in a room by ourselves.

The Daily Post for today is “Happy Endings“. I thought of this experience and couldn't think of a happier ending than having a beautiful healthy baby. (The candlight steak dinner and wine was just secondary).

 

Delightful Bloom

This is my first week to participate in the weekly challenge, “Random Moments of Delight.”

This plant in the picture is a “Christmas Cactus” given to me as a Christmas present. Recently, it started blooming. Here in the Southwest USA there aren't many colors in our winter landscape; so even a small blossom such as this is a happy surprise.

The link to this challenge is:

http://firebonnet.com/2014/01/26/random-moments-of-delight-4-sweet-songbird/

 

The link to this blog post is http://pricelessjoy.co/2014/01/26/delightful-bloom/

or: http://bleedingmyemotions.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/delightful-bloom/