Happiness Project inspires some closet cleaning

Within the past year, I have been reading Gretchen Reuben's "The Happiness Project" on and off, hoping - at some point - to finish it. Ever since I first picked it up, I have been TRULY ENJOYING IT and feel that it HAS made some impact upon my life, but I rarely find time to sit and read uninterrupted. 

I recently finished reading "How to Talk so your kids will listen AND how to listen so your kids will talk" - which I had also been plugging away at for what seems like forever. Also in the works are: "What to Expect When Expecting", "What to Expect Toddler Years" AND "The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are".

Here is a peek of my New Year's Resolutions:

So, you see, I DO have GOOD INTENTIONS of finishing this (Happiness Project) book. Recently, this successful book was published in paperback and I see that it has been published in MANY different languages. (I am pleased for her that her book has become so successful - worldwide! AND I find it fascinating to see the cover variations throughout the world. HOW COOL IS THAT?!? Perhaps it is the former graphic designer in me that appreciates that part.)

Above images taken from the website: http://www.happiness-project.com

I had picked the book up within the past couple of days. Somewhere along the line, Sydney had lost my page. (He likes to look at the book because there is a bird... a blue bird... on the cover and his toddler mind is convinced that there will be exciting pictures inside; it is, however, an adult book that is filled with fascinating and inspiring words.) I flipped it open, midway through the book, and was inspired to re-read a section on cleaning out closets to help with happiness.

Yesterday, my closet cleaning reading inspired me to tackle the office closet. I was pregnant when we moved into this house and therefore, didn't fit into ANY of these clothes. By the time I was finally ABLE to fit into these clothes, I got pregnant again. BUT, in the 2+ years that we have lived here, I have come to this realization:

Closet cleaning, I am reading, is a multi-step program. 

I went through it - ROUND 1 - looking for spare hangers. (Ha! No empties so, onto ROUND 2.)

ROUND 2 - I had a box set aside with a specific intention... clothes to give to my cousin, Kristen. I went through the closet, pulling out anything in a XS or S that I thought she would be able to wear. (She'll be graduating from college in May and will need some clothes for "the work world".)

My signature style happens to be a long-sleeved button down dress shirt, most often worn partially unbuttoned with a shirt underneath, in a rainbow of colors; BIG SIGH - unfortunately, for me, most of them are too small for my aging "motherly" body. (At this time, I am HOPING that I will be able to - someday - fit into size MEDIUM again so, I have temporarily held on to a few shirts.)

I have yet to move onto ROUND 3, but know good-and-well that there are PLENTY of clothes in that closet that I have NO INTENTION of ever wearing (or keeping) so, when time permits (and when childcare and lighting conditions are right to get into that dark unlit corner), I will proceed with the purging process. 

My goal is: to make room in that closet for BABY BOY CLOTHES (they have no closet in the nursery), a set of paper rack storage drawers (that Sydney doesn't stay out of) and clothes, for me, that I actually intend to wear.

I was QUITE PLEASED to easily free up 50 plastic clothes hangers during my recent purging! I look forward to the opportunity to free up some more and will feel SO GOOD when I am done!

Once again, this book is bringing me happiness.

Happy New Year 2011

You know you're getting old when you have NO INTEREST WHATSOEVER in attempting to stay up until midnight to watch the ball drop. Or when your idea of going out to celebrate New Year's is to grab a burger from Champps Americana with your growing family and the rest of the 5:30 dinner crowd and ending with a drive through the "Reflections in the Park" holiday light display just days before it ends for the season.

Sydney wasn't sleeping well (again) last night. We're pretty sure that he's teething because his face looks a little puffy, his cheeks are rosy and he keeps putting his hands on his face - much like the Home Alone movie poster (but without the open mouth and look of worry).

HAPPY NEW YEAR: We were awakened to a 5:08am phone call from the alarm company, reporting an error at work so, Mike had to go in to check on it (on his day off). Sydney heard Mike talking and kept crying "DaDa, daDa, daDa, daDa...." Mike rescued him from his crib and brought him into bed to snuggle with mommy. Sydney patted Mike's empty pillow and cried "DaDa, daDa..." (Mike wished that he COULD climb back into bed to snuggle with his family, but duty called...)

Sadly, I didn't sleep much past that first alarm call. Sydney is pretty restless when attempting to fall back asleep, especially when he's not feeling well. Then, TWO MORE CALLS from the alarm company didn't help my cause much either, but they were trying to reach Mike by cell phone to let him know that ANOTHER alarm was going off and he wasn't picking up. (I gave him the message once he got home, around 7:40am.)

Sydney woke up VERY CRABBY once he finally woke! (That's not like him at all.) It took TIME (almost 30 minutes exactly) and a dose of infant ibuprofen to coax him back into his normal (overly-happy) self. For a while, we were VERY TEMPTED to offer Grandpa Lowell an opportunity for a sleepover at HIS HOUSE, but figured that he'd have to bring him back home in the middle of the night because he was too fussy for EVEN Grandpa! (Mike had even threatened to go back into work on his day off... while we waited for the medicine to kick in!)

As for New Year's Resolutions... 

I'm really NOT good at keeping these, but here goes... 

In the year 2011, I resolve to:

• find "the perfect baby name" for Number 2.

• wear my support hose regularly (at least during the non-shorts season) as recommended by my doctor for my increasingly bad varicose veins.

• drink more fluids.

• take more photographs (because I've gotten out of the habit) and to organize them better on my computer. (Archiving them onto a disk SHOULD be a goal that is HIGH on my list because I would hate to lose all of our early memories of Sydney's life.)

• take 30 minutes daily of "ME-time" - even if it IS at the end of the day when the house is FINALLY quiet.

• finish reading the book "The Happiness Project" so that I can apply it to my daily life.

• keep the clothes hamper IN THE CLOSET so that we can always put dirty clothes where they belong, instead of on the floor in the bedroom.

• organize the office (including sorting/tossing those last few boxes of junk that are tossed into the closet) and make an attempt to keep it clean. I hope to have LESS piles of stuff laying around and a home for things so that I can put (said things) away when I am done using them.

• continue my quest for making (at least) ONE NEW RECIPE per week to keep life interesting.

I have HOPE for the year 2011... 

• hoping that my MS will remain at-bay.

• hoping that Number 2 is healthy and happy.

• hoping that I will be able to breast-feed Number 2.

• hoping to lose my pregnancy weight (it took 10 months last time!)

and as always, hoping to win the Powerball jackpot :)