What Makes You Happy?

Have you ever noticed that some people just can't be happy. They complain about this or they complain about that. They whine, they complain, they whine, they complain. I've been around those people and to be honest with you it can be quite exhausting. Whiners and complainers can suck the happiness right out of you. And let's face. Life is too short to have that kind of attitude. So I say to all the whiners and complainers of the world "What makes you happy? Anything? Anything at all?" I think if we all looked deep down inside of ourselves we would find something that makes us happy. It could be anything. A favorite song, movie, book. A memory from childhood. It could be raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens. Yeah, Yeah I know those are "favorite things", but isn't it our favorite things that make us smile, that make us happy?



What makes me happy? Honestly, just pulling into my driveway makes me happy. I look forward to coming home and getting greeted at the door by two fuzzy little creatures dying to give me sloppy wet doggie kisses. My husband makes me happybecause he can make me laugh no matter what. My family makes me happy because no matter what I do, they will be there for me. And my friends make me happy because they put up with all my crap and still like me for who I am.



So this week I want you all to ask yourselves, "What makes me happy?" Enjoy finding your happiness!

Doing What He Loves

Chip loves to work with wood. He loves to make things out of wood especially furniture. And he is really good at it. He made our bedroom furniture. He has made a coffee table and end tables for his folks. My mom has the first piece of furniture he ever made.

So when the oportunity came up for him to build a table he couldn't turn it down. It all started with this couple and a pecan tree in their yard. They had to cut the tree down and decided to put the wood to good use and have a table made. They heard about Chip and asked him to build it. The showed him pictures and told him what they wanted. After working on it for about two weeks (with a some help from his little helper, me!) the final result was a beautiful table. We delivered it this past Saturday and the couple absolutely loved it!

Having watched Chip as he made this table I am truly amazed by his talent. I have a new found respect for anyone who can create things with their hands. Not only furniture, but any works of art like paintings, pottery, quilts, music, etc. The time, talent and effort put into making something beautiful is more than people realize. So to all of you talented people out there who make beautiful things, KEEP IT UP! The world needs all the beautiful things it can get.

Cousin Willy

After spending two days of last week home sick with the flu I was looking forward to a visit from the in-laws. Strange I know but I actually get along with my in-laws. They can be quite entertaining. Hence the inspiration for my first book. I was especially looking forward to this visit because they were bringing their dog Willy, whom I affectionately call Cousin Willy, to our house for the first time. Willy is an adorable, furry, little creature. He came to live with Nancy and Charlie purely by chance. You see, he once belonged to Nancy's sister Mary Ann. She and her husband had Willy for eight years. One day it was discovered that their grandson was allergic to Willy. Now they couldn't get rid of the grandson so the only alternative was to find Willy a good home. After several weeks of interviews and discussions, Nancy and Charlie were finally awarded custody of and they couldn't have been happier.

When Nancy and Charlie go out of town Chip and I will be dog-sitting Cousin Willy so it is very important that he gets along with Caesar and Cleo. They all met back at Christmas and seemed to get along good but this time Willy was coming to their turf so we were a little nervous. Well, we shouldn't have been because after the intial butt sniffing greeting, everything was just fine. We even left them alone for a couple of hours while we went to dinner. However, the big test of their ability to get along was Saturday. We were attending Chip's cousin's wedding in Hertford which is a little over 2 hours from us. We would be leaving the dogs alone for over 8 hours! We went to the wedding and it was beautiful. Everyone had a great time and we (or I can at least say I) forgot about the dogs. When we were almost home, I finally thought of the dogs and said "Don't worry Willy. We are almost home." Not that I had anything to worry about. Everyone was still alive. After three harmonious days together Cousin Willy went home. I'm sure he has been sad this week because he misses his buddiesv. Caesar and Cleo seem a little sad as well. And honestly, I miss the little fella too. I can't wait for him to come visit again.