on smiling at people + happy spring!

happy first day of spring and international day f happiness!
coincidence, i think not.

spring is such a happy time. birds chirping away, trees bursting into tiny blooms, more sunshine.
all great reasons to be happy and smile.

and i was thinking, people in general don't smile much. i sometimes will go a whole day without smiling more than a couple of times. and i guess it's because at times we have a lot on our plate, or a hundred things running through our mind.

the other day as i walked down to the cafeteria, i smiled at one girl passing by, and to my surprise she smiled back. then to the next guy, and he smiled back!
when i got back to my desk i had collected four smiles. and you know what? it felt good.
just the look on their face that a stranger was smiling was priceless. it's made me feel acknowledged when someone has smiled at me without even knowing me in passing.

smiling is good for the soul i think. since then, i've tried to smile at everyone that passes me by. some people are a little intimidating and my smile will kind of turned out into a crooked, kooky smile, which i guess that's the reason why they don't smile back. ha!
but either way, it's such a simple yet beautiful display of happiness.
and who can argue with happiness?

so today. will you make it a point to smile at people? even if you don't know them. just smile and see how many smiles we can collect.

not just some rosemary.

you want to know what's the best feeling? when someone does something special for you and leaves you feeling so thankful and fuzzy inside. 

last week, a friend out of the blue promised to take me some rosemary from his garden. a couple of days went by and i didn't have my rosemary. it was no big deal, but i would tease him that my grandma's recipe for rosemary chicken was waiting on him. he jokingly would hide from me because he had forgotten yet again.

yesterday as i was coming into work he called me over to his desk, and as i walked up he had a huge bag of rosemary overflowing out of it. it was pretty hilarious, well not for the girl with allergies, but instead of simple cutting a few sprigs and handing them to me, he said he would bring them over to my desk. 

bob seller is not his real name. it's an inside joke at the company we work at

after a good while, and me starting to think he had forgotten yet again, lol, he handed me a nice little bunch wrapped with a red ribbon and a little printout of what rosemary can be used for! it was such a nice touch!

and to think he did that for each of the people he promised rosemary to. 

i mean something like a bunch of rosemary which may seem nothing of the extraordinary, but it's those little details that make something more beautiful, more filled with love. 

it's such a reminder to do every small thing with love, with my full heart, not ever forgetting those small little details that might will make any other day, one to always remember and inspire others to do the same.

 

what has someone done for you that inspired you or made you feel special?

where's your happiness beautiful?

i've put happiness on a pedestal for as long as i can remember. i think from the first day after i gave Jesus my depression, all i've ever wanted to be was happy. every minute of every day. i've feared even a moment of solitude or sadness, crawling away as fast as possible from the dark place i was in for far too long. but i've come to a realization these past couple of weeks that this type of happiness has been so dangerous.

it's the small things.

oh i don't even know why i say it anymore, it's futile, like if my words were to slow down time. but here we are nonetheless, it's thursday and another week is flying by. it almost leaves time for anything at all, however, it's a clear reminder that we must live each day looking for bliss in everything, small or big. currently i'm finding bliss in little things like...

vanilla chai tea. oh pure heaven. it's so soothing and sweet, and well makes me a happy lady. getting ready for bed, it's become part of my little ritual. the smell is heavenly too.

phil wickham has been on replay. i love acoustic sounds. so romantic and uplifting.
which is why i need to find time to learn how to play the guitar. poor thing is in its case in the corner of my studio. i digress. his worship songs are so pure and full of heart. currently my fave is all i am. hits the nail on the head for my heart right now.


my kitchen has become my place to be me. sounds so weird, but when i'm cooking and finding more ways to cook from scratch and with natural ingredients, it satisfies me inside. i never thought i would say something like that. but it does make me beam with pride when i place a homecooked meal in front of my family. even if some nights its homade turkey sandwhiches. they were made with love. :)

funny when we stop and think about the small mundane things that we have going on, most actually bring a smile to our face. shouldn't take that for granted.

for you.

Thank you ALL of you who have been such a great encouragement with your sweet words. I love meeting ladies who are all about building up and not tearing down. I saw the above quote on Pinterest and thought - isn't that the truth.

My 'happy project' has been going well and my kids behaved soooo much better and were much happier because momma wasn't as frazzled. I thought this was a great reminder for us all. Happiness is what makes everything well.

(I searched high and low for the author of the above quote and was unsuccessful)

I made the print to my liking and if you like it, feel free to print it and use it whichever way you like.

May you all be as joyous as a kid in a candy store!