Good Grief Guru

Posts Tagged ‘Happy thoughts’

I was recording Happy Thought #24 while my daughter listened in.  When I was done she said, “Happy thought #2.  I love you, Mom!”

So, I responded, “Happy thought #3.  I love you, Alexis.”  Back and forth we went.

“Happy thought #14.  I love you Mom.”

“Happy thought #20.  You’re beautiful Alexis.”

“Happy thought #24.  I love you Diego.”

“Happy thought #16.  Colouring with you is fun.”

“Happy thought #4.  I love the letter C.”

It seems happy thoughts are contagious.  My true Happy Thought #25 is that all this positive thinking seems to be rubbing off on my daughter.

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The day I can’t pay off my credit card is the day I cut it up.  In the meantime I use it for regular payments, and do my best to keep track that my spending on the allusive plastic card still falls in line with my budget.  Whatever I charge on my credit card that I would otherwise buy with cash, earns me points.

I am NOT promoting credit cards.  I have seen these plastic vampires destroy lives.  BUT, in my case, where I have never charged more than I could pay off when it’s due, I have to say, I thoroughly enjoy going to the grocery store and getting free groceries, like the $80 worth of free food I received from points today.

I remember that Neil and I used to take our points and buy grocery cards to give out to a couple we became friends with, who were living on the streets.  Our friends are now off the streets, have their own rented apartment, and at least one of them is working a full time job.  Grocery cards meant they could grab a healthy meal, and assured us no money would be spent on other things.  It was all the more fun being able to help someone else, when the groceries were free to us.

So, today I have lots of reasons to be happy for free groceries!

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“I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts”, sings Merv Griffin on the 1950 Freddy Martin show.

Alexis and I have lovely coconuts too.  Five to be exact.  They surround my computer and I can’t think of a better way to write.

Alexis has been hooked on coconuts ever since our trip to Cuba, in 2010.  Tetra packs of coconut water are stocked in our pantry at home.  Here, in Barbados, we buy the freshest kind, green coconuts right off a palm tree.  Each morning I cut open a hole in the top of a green coconut.  We insert a straw, and hydrate.  After we’ve had our fill of the good stuff, I scoop out the coconut jelly for an extra treat.

Back home in Canada we buy the small, brown, hard coconuts.  I put one in a plastic back, tie a knot, and Alexis and I take turns slinging the coconut on the frozen floor of our garage.  Smash!  We hurl the bag until we can feel the coconut has cracked into little pieces.  These serve as our snacks for the remainder of the week.

Coconut water not only tastes great, it has a ton of health benefits too.  I love bringing my daughter up on coconut water instead of sugary drinks, and she loves it too.

Here’s to coconuts!  Eat, drink, and be merry.

I was out for a morning walk in the sun, hand in hand with my daughter, when up on a wall we spotted a monkey, then two, then three, then four!  Alexis and I knelt down, being very quiet so we didn’t scare them away.  Turns out, they weren’t scared of us at all.  One hopped off the wall and walked right past us, eating an orange palm nut while it strolled.

Each one passed within a foot of where we knelt.  They sauntered down our driveway, to a neighbouring yard, where we got to enjoy a long show while they feasted on a tropical brunch.

Monkeys are SO cute. To watch a video of some monkey business, click here.

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Watch the VIDEO recording of Happy Thought #14 by Shawna & Alexis, recorded from Barbados

My day started out like this.  My daughter crawled in bed with me, and with a sweet little smile she quietly whispered, “You are so special.”

Oh, that every day could begin like this.

Then she said, “I am so happy.”  I asked her, “What makes you so happy?”, and she answered, “Sarah”, her twenty-something cousin who has been showering her with love and attention throughout our vacation in Barbados.

As we emerge from the terrible twos, I see a glimmer of hope.  My nearly-three-year-old has began to make the connection between cause and effect, the result of which is slightly more cooperation.  She also participates in random acts of kindness.  Sometimes she spontaneously quips, “I love you, Mom!”, or the other night at dinner, she turned to her Grandma and said with a big grin, “You’re awesome.”

Edification from the mouth of babes.  As Martha Stewart says, “It’s a good thing.”

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My daughter and I got crafty.  Using empty clementine crates and a little imagination, we created scene boxes for her My Little Ponies.

My happy thought today is how blessed I am to live in a land of resources, and that even if I didn’t, simple things, like a clementine crate, can be turned into a park scene, or a galaxy far, far, away.  Just recycle, add paint, and a pinch of wonder.

For more photos, and to read my step-by-step instructions on how to make your own clementine crate scene, click here to check out my featured post on Pardon My Poppet.com

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I love how the sun comes blaring through my living room window, especially on a cold winter day.  I’m like a lazy cat on days like these.  I find the sunniest hot spot, curl up in its glow, and bask in its sweltering glory.  My thermostat climbs…72, 74, 75, 78.  The higher it goes the happier I am.  Warmed to the bone for the first time all winter I meditate on how I love hot summery, cold winter days!

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My grade ten history teacher totally rocked.  I think you’ll agree when you hear this story.

Certainly artistic herself, she offered a project to any willing student of the class who opted to paint a famous piece of art on the walls of our history classroom, in lieu of writing an essay.

I was the first to raise my hand.

I picked a painting by the eighth member of the renowned Canadian Group of Seven, Emily Carr.

I fell in love with the vibrancy of her painted West Coast totem poles, and the massive Pacific Red Cedar trees she depicted with life and movement.

Using a projector that reflected a slide of a Carr totem pole painting, I spent the next week painting a 4′ x 2 1/2′ replica, attempting to capture the essence of her masterpiece using acrylic paint on a glossy, cement, classroom wall.

To complete my history project I wore and old fashioned dress, stood in front of the class, and spoke as though I were Emily Carr, reincarnate.

It was a great moment in history…class, for me.  That teacher’s creativity left an impression on me, as I hope my reproduced art did as it looked out amoung countless students over the next few years.

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The most relaxing thing I can think of is sitting on the ceramic surface of my bluish-grey shower, and letting the warm rain from the faucet pour over my head.  This is the height of therapy.

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I visited the Butterfly Conservatory in Cambridge, Ontario, with my Mom and a good friend of ours.

Within the first minute of entering the butterfly zone, a white butterfly with black dots, landed on my bright pink floral-print shirt.  What a treat!

It was cold outside, and the ground was snow dusted, but one would never know it from the heart of their tropical indoors.  Any time I want to feel a little closer to the equator and can’t afford to get away, I think I’ll be heading back here.  Just hand me a fresh green coconut, and you’ll find me vacationing by the indoor waterfall, enjoying the flight of my fluttery friends.

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