Monthly Archives: April 2017

Being Happy #100HappyDays

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Day 18: Being happy makes me happy. 

I know you’re like, “What kind of Inception shit is that?” 🙂 Further explanation is required, so awwwwwwwww here it goes:

Today I was working at the tech helpdesk for our customer conference. I spoke with quite a few coworkers, and two of them gave me the same compliment: “Every time I see you, you are so happy and energetic. I’ve never seen you have a bad day.” 

That definitely put a smile on my face because I have plenty of bad days. I’ve got a number of issues I’m battling right now, but I always try to treat people how I want to be treated. I always attempt to put positivity into the world because I believe you get what you give. Sometimes it’s hard to be upbeat, but I try. And I appreciate that people see the effort. 

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Calls with Mommy #100HappyDays

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Day 17: Phone calls with my mommy make me happy. I speak with my mom on the phone a couple of times a week–I literally just got off the phone with her–and every time I hear her voice, I smile. She is so smart and always has the best advice and I love her more than anything in the world! I wish I lived closer so that we could spend more time together face-to-face, but these phone calls keep me happy in between visits. 

Weekends, Faux Burgers, Reunions, and Chipmunks #100HappyDays

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Day 13:  Saturdays make me happy.  Long story short, I love the weekend!  I enjoy my job (see my last post for reasons why) but there is nothing like sitting around the house doing absolutely nothing.

Day 14:  Grilling out makes me happy.  My boyfriend and I made Portobello burgers for dinner and they were SO.  GOOD!  I’ve often missed meat since becoming a vegetarian last August, but these burgers made me forget all about it!  Ground chuck who???  All I need are these mushrooms, honey!  🙂

Day 15:  Reuniting with colleagues makes me happy.  I ran into one of my old analysts during our customer conference and it was so exciting to see her!  Her organization was the last one I worked with before I switched to my current role, so I wasn’t able to see them get all the way through the install.  I loved getting updates on how things went, the other analysts, and overall just getting to see her again.

Day 16:  Small fuzzy animals make me happy.  I saw a chipmunk when I was walking to lunch at work.  I would have snapped a picture but the little thing scampered away before I could get my phone out.  Guess he was heading to lunch too!

“Do good. Have fun. Work hard. Make money.” #100HappyDays

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Day 12: Fun opportunities at work make me happy. 

The title of this post is one of my company’s slogans: “Do good. Have fun. Work hard. Make money.” I do good every day, teaching people how to use the life-saving software my company provides. I definitely work hard, and make money by doing it. And next week, I get to have fun…by hosting a “radio show” as part of our spring customer conference. 

When I say “radio show” I mean “welcome session with logistics about the event presented in the format of a morning radio show.” But we’ve worked really hard on making it seem like a real radio program–we have commercials recorded and everything! Guess that BA in broadcasting I got is finally getting some use–and I don’t even have to wear a Beaver costume like I did for my college internship at the local country station. 🙂

I saw these “promo posters” for the show and they are so cool! I work at the most awesome place ever! 

Health Informations in the Mornings!

Bright and Blooming #100HappyDays

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Day 11: Fresh flowers make me happy. 

Things are just starting to bloom around here, but not fast enough for my liking. After what felt like a decades-long winter, I need to see some flowers blooming! That’s why I really appreciated the fresh flowers my boyfriend’s dad brought over this weekend when I hosted dinner at my house. Today I saw that a few of the buds have opened and those bursts of color made me so happy! Photo below for your viewing pleasure:

Bright and blooming flowers!

Bonus: My Granny Loma loved fresh flowers, and every time I have some in my home I think of her. She made me–and everyone who knew her–very happy. Check out my tribute to her here. 

Safe Travels, Staff Meetings, Dinners, and Open Doors #100HappyDays

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Four days of happiness comin’ atcha in three…two…ONE:

Day 7:  Safe travels make me happy.  My parents headed back to Kentucky on this day, so it was bittersweet for me.  I was sad to see them go, but happy when I got the text from my mom telling me they made it back safely.  I always worry about them when they travel–too many crazy drivers out there for my comfort–so getting the confirmation that their travels were safe put a big smile on my face.

Day 8:  Staff Meeting (oddly enough) makes me happy.  Most folks wouldn’t say they enjoy attending a staff meeting at work, especially when that meeting is over two hours long.  But I enjoy attending the monthly staff meeting at my company.  I like learning what’s new with the company and the software and hearing our CEO speak about topics related to the business we do.  I also appreciate the monthly grammar tip–who doesn’t want to improve their grammar?  🙂

Day 9:  Making dinner with my boyfriend makes me happy.  I’ve always been able to throw a recipe together, but wasn’t really someone who enjoyed cooking.  That changed after I started cooking with my boyfriend.  We make dinners together a few nights a week and it is always more fun cooking with him than when I cook solo.  Whether we’re trying something completely new or making an old favorite, we always have a good time.  (And the food usually turns out pretty great too!  Check out my Instagram for photos of some of the meals we’ve made.)

Day 10:  Being appreciated makes me happy.  After pinch-hitting for a coworker who was out with a sick kiddo this week, my team lead (TL) told me I was “the reason why we keep the doors open for HIM training.”  Apparently this isn’t the only time someone has said that–she said she stole the phrase from another TL who supervised me while my TL was out on maternity leave!  In a company of 9,000+ people, it’s easy to fly under the radar.  I love helping others and I don’t need to be recognized for it, but knowing that someone notices and appreciates the ways I help out makes me very happy indeed.

Family Fun #100HappyDays

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Day 6: Spending time with family makes me happy. 

Most of my family is still in Kentucky, and since I’ve been living in Wisconsin I’ve often felt disconnected from them. I was born and raised in Kentucky, surrounded by family, and I miss being able to see them whenever I want and keep up with the ins and outs of their daily lives. Today though, I got to spend quality time with my parents. We sat around watching tv and talking and had lunch together. That might sound like a boring day to some, but I enjoyed every single minute with them. 

And on top of that, my parents and my boyfriend’s parents finally met! I made dinner for everyone at my house and lots of laughs were shared. I am so glad that everyone hit it off and I’m looking forward to the next time we can all get together again. 

Bonus: My mom and I got makeovers today at Sephora. I am always happy in Sephora. 🙂 (And our makeup turned out great!) 

Gladiators and Good Reviews #100HappyDays

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Happiness abounds! 

Day 4: Scandal makes me happy. Are y’all surprised I am obsessed with Scandal? If so, you shouldn’t be. Fierce Black woman solving problems and saving lives while rocking designer clothes and carrying exquisite handbags? That’s got me written all over it. Yesterday was the show’s 100th episode and to celebrate, they did a “what if” storyline outlining what might have happened if important events turned out differently. I’ve been watching Scandal avidly since the first season–I am an old school “gladiator”–so I enjoyed seeing old characters and situations revisited. 

Day 5: Customer evals make me happy. These evaluations (evals) I’m referring to are submitted by customers at the end of each class. They rate the overall course, training materials, and me (the trainer). This morning my team lead called me first thing and asked if I had read my evals from Thursday’s class. I immediately got anxious that something was wrong, but they were some of the best ranks I’ve ever gotten! I appreciated the positive comments my trainees left and also the fact that my team lead noticed and called to congratulate me. 

Bonus: Today when I got home from work, I was able to sit down and eat dinner with my parents. I am so happy they came up to spend Easter weekend with me!

Work and the Weather(man) #100HappyDays

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You’re probably thinking, “Nice job, sis.  You just started #100HappyDays and you’re already a day behind.”

To that I say–you’re right; I am late.  But the reason I’m late is the reason I was happy yesterday, so check your lipstick before you come for me.  🙂

Day 2:  Educating people makes me happy.  Yesterday, I had the pleasure of teaching a class of directors, managers, and supervisors.  Twelve intelligent, curious women learned how to support their staff and received the details they needed to make informed decisions about how their departments will work.  They asked great questions and really seemed eager to succeed, and I was so happy to see that.  I was proud to know that I helped them feel confident in their roles and this new software system they would be using.  This class took most of the day, and after it ended I got so busy with other work responsibilities and spending time with my awesome boyfriend that I missed posting about it.  But, even a day late, it still brings a smile to my face.

Pretty good stuff, huh?  Bet you feel bad about clowning me for being a day behind.  It’s okay; I forgive you.  🙂  And to show you there are no hard feelings, I’ll share today’s happy thing with you.

Day 3:  WKOW makes me happy.  I know this sounds weird, but the local ABC station in Madison helps me start my morning with a smile.  The Wake Up Wisconsin morning show has the best anchors; I love the camaraderie between them (the weatherman is pretty good too).  I appreciate the local news segments they do, and I love that they feature an animal from the Dane County Humane Society each week to help find it a forever home.  Also, today’s trivia question was about a Beyoncé song, which made me very happy indeed.

#100HappyDays

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Hello again, friends!

Lately, I’ve been struggling with appreciation.  There are a lot of stressful things going on in my life right now (personal, professional, even legal) that can make seeing the beautiful things in life very hard to do.  Therefore, for the next 100 days, I will post something that makes me happy and tag it with #100HappyDays to make myself reflect on the positive aspects of my life.  These posts will include people, places, things, whatever–anything that makes me happy is eligible for the 100HappyDays hashtag.  🙂

Day 1:  This blog makes me happy!  Even though I don’t update every day (or even every month) I enjoy having this space to voice my opinions.  There are some things I want to share with the entire world; this blog gives me the opportunity to get those thoughts and ideas out to a wide audience.  There are some times when I’m sad, lonely, scared, angry, or just need to vent–this blog is the safe space I need to get those feelings out.

(PS:  I got this idea from my friend/coworker Nicole.  Check out her awesome blog here!)