Excuses, excuses

So, yeah, that whole posting every week during my #100happydays challenge ... pretty much dropped the ball on that one. I swear I do have good excuses, but I won't bore you with how insane work and the holiday season has been ... or how lazy I've been. Instead, since I'm a couple days out from wrapping up the challenge, I'll share my thoughts. Good? Good.

The challenge itself was just that, challenging. It really made me look at the simple things in life and challenge myself to find a smile everyday. I truly enjoyed spending the last few months focusing on finding happiness. Did it get me out of my funk? A little. Did it help clarify what makes me happy? Absolutely.

So what does make me happy? That's easy. Flip through my Instagram feed and you'll quickly see lots of food and drink posts. Some of these were much needed glasses of wine at the end of a busy day or a special meal made by a special hubby. But a lot of them were centered around being out -- either with friends or on a date night. It made me realize as much as I enjoying being at home (and trust me, I like it a lot), I'm happier out than sitting on the couch being a bum.

I also realized that I'm not happy with how I look right now (queue the head slap). I know. I know. How long ago did I post about that and how many times have I not done something about it?  But going 100 days and only posting 2 photos of myself made me realize some serious change is needed in my life. I can't play at this anymore.

More than anything, my takeaway from this challenge is to not let life pass me by. I need to cherish the small moments in life and make sure to do something every day for myself that counts. It's too easy to fall into the trap of every day looking the same and following the same routine. This challenge reminded me that change really is good and finding small moments of happiness every day can do a wonder on your mood and outlook.

100 happy days: days 1-10

It's been a fun 10 days trying to identify something each day that makes me happy. It really does remind me to pay attention to the small things and challenges me to find something that makes me happy or feel good when I don't have something obvious staring me in the face (brunch, cocktails, dinner plans). There's a couple things I've noticed over the past 10 days about myself:

• A lot of my happy moments involve food and alcohol. I guess I've always known this -- I wholeheartedly embrace a "live to eat" mentality. It's just interesting to see that half of my posts through day 10 involved food and/or drinks. 
• It's A LOT harder to find something to post when I don't have an event planned ... and it's a really good challenge to look for things in every day life. I think this is really what the challenge is about. It's easy to be happy when you're out with friends and family or enjoying your favorite things, but what truly makes you happy the rest of the time? I don't have that answer yet as my other 5 posts have been a hodgepodge of activities. 
• It's hard to post every day. So far, there have been 2 days where I haven't posted and I think it's because there wasn't an obviously happy moment staring me in the face. For those two days I didn't post and it took some reflection the next morning to really come up with a happy moment. 
• I'm embarrassed to take photos. Yep, the constantly-has-her-camera-ready-at-every-moment girl has been shy to whip out my phone and take pictures -- especially of myself. The lesson I take from this is that it's important to live in the moment and I need to stop caring what every one else thinks.
• It's been a lot of fun. My sister decided to join in on the challenge with me after seeing my first post and I have to say that I look forward to seeing what makes her happy every day. It's also a lot of fun trying to challenge myself to create happy moments every day, which lately have translated into some selfish moments for me (hello bubble baths!). I think that's ok and it reminds me that taking care of me and making sure that I'm happy and healthy only improves my relationship with my husband, friends and family. 

100 Happy Days

Down, frustrated, bitter, sad, moody. Call it what you will, I've been in a funk lately. Little things bother me more than they should. I get disappointed too easily. I've been unfocused both at work and at home. I'm temperamental and bitchy. Basically, a real joy to be around. Something needs to change.

I've noticed a couple friends who have posted #100happydays photos and I thought I'd check it out to see if it could help shift my attitude and remind me how good life truly is.

What do I hope to accomplish? I hope to get out of this funk, and appreciate what I have and the little moments in life. I really want to find out what makes me happy. I'll be posting daily photos to Instagram and do a weekly recap here. Wish me luck!