Day 4: And then there was rest...lots and lots of it.

My little guy is sick right now with a fever and general lethargy. Because of this, he stayed home from German school this morning and we read oodles of children's books, watched tons of relaxing tv (I actually dozed off), and just cuddled.

It was the little moments of connection this morning that somehow seem lost in this crazy world we live in. Moments that are often marred by our so called technology. Moments that will never be given back to our new generation. Today, watching cartoons on Saturday morning, reading silly books and just hanging was such a treasure. I hope he remembers mornings like this when he is older.

The best quote this morning:
Son "Yeah, I've had paella" (in reference to a cartoon).
Me "Um, I haven't cooked that in a while. Are you sure?"
Son "Of course! I ate it with God. Before I was born."

So, hopefully you are resting yourself to happier place. In the meantime here is a little nostalgia for you


And if you have a second longer, check this out too:

Day 3: Finding Shiny Happy People on a dreary day

Today, on day three of my personal journey, I woke up to a headache, a body ache, and a pukey child. Not the makings of a happy day. Determined to turn this frown upside down, I embarked on a forced happy day - then I found out about the Tsunami in Japan. Now really, did I have any reason to be happy at all?

So, in piled the remaining two children for their ride to school and my gym duty in the rain. Along the way, REM's "Shiny, Happy People" popped into my mind. And memories from Wheaton College, sunning in the Dimple, dancing like a fool to a boom box blaring out this 90s anthem flittered through my grey matter. Then a sweet, young voice singing along to the songs on the radio broke my reverie and brought a smile to my lips.

Even on this dreary day, smiles were to be had after all. After completing my gym duty (and by this I mean walking my kids' class to and from gym in the cold rain), I came home to a huggy boy who just wanted to cuddle.

Here is your own little bit of "Shiny, Happy People" to help you see the sun today too:

Day 2: Happiness is a new pair of Chuck Taylors!

Today began very refreshed after a wonderful night's slumber. Ready to continue on the Happiness Project, I immediately got ready for another great day. After a shower, I managed to file all my bills and leave just the few that need to paid tomorrow in my desk inbox ready for the morning. Then I tackled the first of many clean up zones to does. This one is beyond comment: a filled casserole whose contents needed to be put in the correct place. After finishing both of these tasks, it was time to rouse the kiddies.

This is when my day took a huge plunge and I had to wrestle with myself not to turn into THAT mother. I am proud to say that I dangled stickers in front of their eyes and managed to refind the happy.

So after a rocky morning, the rest of the day went swimmingly, minus the eye dialation at the eye doctor. I will have snazzy new reading glasses next week and finally a pair that has not been kidhandled that dangle from one ear. :)

Hope you found a Happy moment today too.

Day 1: 40 Days to a Happier Number

Life for the past three years has been throwing so many water balloons at our family, that most days, I have no idea where to look. I have tried over the course of this blog to make it be different things. Today, I am taking it organic and bringing it back to what it was originally supposed to be: a place to reflect on life with three young kids in a crazy place that we call the world.

Making the decision to change the blog from Mama's Sweet Deals to Filling My Glass has been ruminating for months. Recent events, have let my mind clear and finally see that I need to get back to writing and to release my creative being, return to me.

To start this journey, I decided to take the Authentic Happiness Inventory Questionnaire to find out what my Happy Number is. I scored 2.46 out of a possible 5. Better than I thought, but still not my potential. So... I have decided to see if I can boost that number in 40 days. This means a lot of cleaning - organizing the messes I can handle and trying to get the emotional stuff where it needs to be. Hopefully, this project will allow me to rediscover the creative self that is wandering around somewhere, feeling a little lost.

If you decide to join me on filling your glass...come along for the ride. Let's see where this baby will take us. No plans, just going with the flow and creating a happy place to keep the work stuff propelling forward.

Here is a little song to get you in the mood to dust off life and re-examine it:

And if you want to take the Authentic Happiness Inventory Questionnaire, click here.

White Noise....

You may have noticed the lack of activity here for the past few days. A series of nasty viruses infected my computer. It has been stripped and re-installed back to the original factory specifications on December 17, 2005. As you can imagine this process has taken hours and new posts will continue, but not tonight...

Peace out!

ABC Poster designed by Ramon Tejada and Written by yours truly is printed!

Yippee!!!

This whimsical ABC poster was the brain child of my friend Ramon, NY graphic designer extraordinaire. We have been working on this project since he proposed the idea on a snowy visit last year and it is finally, finally printed!

It is now in a new format (for those who saw the other one) and for sale! :)

Want more info? Send an email to me at: sanderdrei@gmail.com

Happy New Year!

Happy 2010! As the new year is dawning, I hope that you are enjoying the first days of the new year and the new decade.

It seems like yesterday the Y2K hysteria was going on and naysayers were sure that the Apocalypse was immanent. Thankfully, they were wrong.

The 2000's started out as a decade of over indulgence and bigger is better. Coasting through the decade, everyone was trying to outdo the Joneses, and many were caught up in economically overstretching and using credit for everything from a gallon of milk, to 100% financing on housing. Hey, this was the American dream.

That bubble burst, and burst loudly in the mid-decade. Gone was the wanton spending, replaced by a panic for the future and millions of dollars lost in the now defunct real estate market. Times were bleak, so many were without jobs, and yet there was the hope that things would rebound.

By the end of 2009, frugality and stretching dollars was in vogue and people were starting to find jobs, and finally feel a little more secure. Gone was the frivolous spending that started the decade, replaced by a Depression Era sensibility of recycling, reusing, rethinking.

Hopefully, this new mindset will buoy us all through whatever plan is in store for us all. In the meantime, why don't we all sit down and make some financial resolutions for this new year along with the usual yearly goals?

Happy New Year!