Happiness Is...

With everyone telling you "Happy Holidays", "Happy Chanukah" "Merry Christmas" and "Happy New Year", it got me to thinking, what is being "Happy" and am I?  Sure, getting sparkly new earrings or a shiny new car, makes me happy, but I have yet to figure out how to do that everyday and not end up in the poor house.  Sustaining this happiness throughout the year, on just a random Tuesday, isn't that what we are all striving for?  It seems to me the answer is but a cliché, "happiness is in the small things".  Happiness is not a place we strive for or arrive at, it's simply a matter of slowing down and enjoying the things that do make you happy, they are right there every day. When I first sat down to right this post I thought I would have a hard time coming up with 3-4 to share, but once I started to write, more kept popping into my head.  So here is my challenge to you, stop for a moment and think about what makes you happy, post a few in the comments section below.  I look forward to reading what makes you happy. Here are a few of mine:  A hot-pot of coffee, ready before I get out of bed in the morning. The smell and look of a freshly mown lawn. Early Sunday mornings while the house is still quiet. A good book, and nothing to do for an afternoon but grab a blanket, curl up on the couch and read. A big bowl full of lemons, they are so fresh smelling and happy looking. A decorated Christmas tree with presents beneath, it almost makes me sad to open all those pretty wrapped packages, almost. The sound of my daughter singing, or saying "I missed you Mommy", or pretty much anything she does. My electric blanket. Dinner and a bottle of wine with good company. Christmas music.

I could go on and on. Once you stop and think about what it is, they just keep coming.   Oh, and by the way...Have a Merry Christmas.

Instant Gratification

This past spring we had the house repainted, in the process they took the storm windows off and gave us access to years and years of filth. All summer I've been saying, "I've got to get those windows cleaned" without every really meaning it.  Yesterday, I decided it was time to jump in with both feet.  If I was going to tackle the miserable chore of washing windows, I wanted it done right.  Off to the local hardware I went. I purchased; 1 squeegee, 1 fuzzy window cleaning thing, an extension pole and a gallon of window cleaner. It was the best $20 bucks I ever spent.  In the past I had tried all the little home tricks to get sparkly windows, water and vinegar, ammonia and water, newspaper, none of it works. So yesterday, up on the ladder I went, I soaped up the windows and wiped them down with the squeegee. OMG! Instant, sparkling windows.  This isn't a miserable chore, I just never had the right tools, now that I do, I can't wait for the windows to get dirty again.  The only problem is...now that the sunlight can get through, I guess I'll have to dust.

McMansions R.I.P.

Over the past year or so I have noticed several internet article's stating that the era of McMansions is coming to an end, Thank God! In my career I have had the good fortune to work with some amazing builders, that sometimes even listen to me.  In every aspect of my life, my story has always been the same...Quality over Quantity. Give me one really good, leather purse instead of 10 cheap ones. That same philosophy apply's to homes, this is my sanctuary and I don't want something that has been slapped together with glue and has veneer this and that. I would rather have half the square footage and double the workmanship, who needs 7,800 square feet anyway?  When I was growing up, it was quite common for kids to share a room and for a family to, gasp, share?  We had one television and we survived, not always peacefully, but we did survive.  I live in an "Old Town" area where most of the house were built in the 1900-1930's many of these homes are 800-900 square feet, and in the day, the basements would not have been finished.  These homes were built for families and they only had two maybe three bedrooms and one bath. Now, let's not go crazy, I'm not suggesting that any family should be subjected to only one t.v. and 800 square feet is mighty small but hopefully this will be the beginning of a happy medium. Kind of like Goldilocks, not too big and not too small but juusst right.