Week 1 of 2016 - Micro-moments of Happiness

I'm always so motivated to meet all of my goals at the beginning of the year.  I've been taking "happy pictures" off and on for several years, but this year I want to write a "happy blog post" each week.

Barbara Fredrickson in her book, Love 2.0, talks about "micro-moments" of love and connection that we experience with each interaction. Since reading her book, I've been aware of the many "micro-moments" of happiness and positive emotions I experience each day.  I'm also more aware of the "micro-moments" of negative emotion, but then I go back and reflect about why I'm experiencing that negative emotion and whether or not I can do something to change it.  Just being ultra-aware of my emotions and how much control I have over them has really helped me stay in a happy mood all week! And it helps that it was a really good week.

The best thing about the week is that my youngest son is home from Purdue and it's so excellent to have him around. They say that relationships and social connection are the biggest key to happiness and I feel so lucky that I have such a close relationship with my kids.  The "happiest thing" this week for me was all the time I got to spend with Scotty... playing lots of games, watching movies, talking, laughing, eating, and just hanging out together. One of the things I appreciate most about Scotty is that he is almost always happy and laughing himself.

Here are a few photos and descriptions of other micro-moments of happiness I had this week:

 My 4 "daily resolutions" for Week 1 were: 1) Drink More Water 2) Walk 10,000+ Steps a Day 3) Smile at a Stranger and 4) Keep a Gratitude Journal.  On January 1rst, I walked to Starbucks, bought coffee for a stranger who smiled, drank a big cup of water, and wrote how grateful I was for the experience!

Even though I had a resolution to eat healthier food and lose a few pounds, I consciously enjoyed delicious food at a friend's potluck party and at a book club movie night later in the week. I still lost the one pound I'd hoped to lose by the end of the week!

I had a goal to go on at least one "excursion" each week, so Scotty and I went to "Snow Much Fun" an advertised holiday event. It turns out, the "event" was holiday lights in Central Park. The lights were beautiful and even though this was a relatively simple excursion, it was a fun thing to do with Scotty.

A new discovery I made this week was "zoodles" - noodles made from zucchini. I made carrot noodles, too along with a mushroom sauce for a very low-calorie, delicious and healthy meal!