January Goals Recap

January is pretty much over. So here's an update on how I've done this month with my goals:

• Monthly Family Photo - We took one! So that's a success.
• SMASH Books - I have my very first SMASH book. There are no pictures in it yet (I'll wait until the end of the year to print them), but I've planned out generally how I want it to look.
• Birthday Presents - I only had one family birthday in January and I sent two gifts. There are none in February, but 4 in March! So I'm working ahead and trying to figure out gifts for everyone.
• Display Photos - I've definitely made improvements here. Our fridge is now covered in photos! Also I have gotten around to finding photos to put in various frames and now (at least in the main living areas) there are lots of them up! 
• I've also done a good job of journaling every night, even though that wasn't a goal initially. 

So overall I think January was a success, but I think I started out with an easy month. Some of the other months (February!) are going to be much tougher. So stay tuned for my next post where I talk about my new goals for February!

Happy Peach Cobbler

Like much of the food I eat, this recipe brings back happy memories. Growing up, cobbler was typically biscuits on top of a fruit filling. This recipe changed that. Instead of plopping biscuits on top of the fruit, you pour a batter over melted butter and plop the fruit on top. The fruit sinks as the cobbler bakes creating a cake layer on top and peachy goodness on the bottom. 

Ingredients:

• 4 cups cubed peeled fresh, thawed, or canned peaches
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 3/4 cup flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 cup milk

In a bowl, gently toss the peaches, 1/2 cup of sugar, and the almond extract. Pour the butter into a 2 quart baking dish. In a second bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and 1/2 cup sugar. Stir the milk into the flour mixture. Pour the batter evenly over the melted butter (do not stir!). Spoon the peach mixture over the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Makes 4 generous servings. 

Product Envy - Recording Memories

While I have been trying to do better at recording memories, I've found two products that I'd really like to try. Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to just buy things that I'd like to have (who is?). So I've placed them on my wishlist and maybe someday I'll actually get to test them out. Until then, I'll share them with you.

1) The first product is a lovely Journal Set from the makers of SMASH books. It's so pretty and would make my journaling much more enjoyable. I especially love that it includes some sort of Washi Tape.

2) The second product is a set of 36 Fine Permanent Markers. I love all the different colors and imagine using them in my SMASH book, journal, daily planner, birthday cards, etc. 

So what do you think? What products do you wish you could afford?

Another Dose of Words

Words hold such power, don't you think? It impresses me how by just reading something we can feel so inspired. Here's some words that have been inspiring me recently:

Happy Sweet and Sour Sauce

Everybody loves this recipe! I have yet to meet anyone who didn't like it. Making this recipe (or maybe I should say eating the results) always makes me happy. It's a recipe that's been handed down from family and friends for many years.

I love serving it with chicken, on rice, or with meatballs. It's so much better than that fake pink stuff you get from Chinese places. I think it tastes like the authentic kind you can get at Thai restaurants. I have so many happy memories associated with this recipe and I hope you enjoy it too.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. ground ginger (or more if you like)
• 2 Tbs. soy sauce
• 1 Tbs. pineapple juice (from the canned pineapple later)
• 3 Tbs. vinegar (I've used white, apple cider, and rice vinegar, it doesn't matter what kind you use)
• 3 Tbs. ketchup
• 1 can crushed or tidbits pineapple (20 oz. or however much you'd like to add)
• 2 Tbs. cornstarch
• 1/2 cup water or pineapple juice

Directions:

Combine the sugar and ground ginger in a sauce pan. Add the soy sauce, 1 Tbs. of pineapple juice, vinegar, and ketchup. Combine and bring to a boil while mixing regularly. While the sauce is heating up combine the 1/2 cup water or juice with the cornstarch in separate container. Once the sauce is boiling add the cornstarch mixture to the sauce pan. Stir while again bringing to a boil. Allow it to boil for another minute or until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and add the pineapple before serving. Enjoy!

A Wordle Toutorial

Wordles are collages of words, like the picture above. You can use them as a fun display or as a way of illustrating written data. To make your own Wordle follow the instructions below:

1. Go to the Wordle website.
2. Type or paste in the text you want to use in your Wordle (you can alternatively enter the URL of a blog or web page) and click "Go."
3. Wordle will randomly generate the result. You can click the "Randomize" button to redesign the Wordle.
4. To change the design of your Wordle manually use the buttons on the top left (Font, Layout, etc.)
5. If you are changing the color remember that clicking the same color option will change which words are each color.
6. You can print your Wordle or I use a snipping tool to save it on my computer. 

Stop and Treasure the Moments

I was thinking about this quote today and realized how well it applies to my happiness project, especially for this month's goal. It perfectly sums up why I want to make an effort to make memories and record them. Memories are our record of what we've done with our lives. I don't want to miss my life. I want to be able to look around right now and fully soak it up. I also want to look back later and be able to remember how it was. 

I can think back on certain times in my life and remember certain things about those times. However, it's impossible for me to remember it all. I sometimes regret not recording how I was feeling or what I was doing at those times in my life. Wouldn't it have been great to look back at those memories now? 

Go-to-Gift Guide

Since I'm trying to do better with acknowledging my family's birthdays and part of that is getting them a gift. Sometimes I'm not sure what to get certain people. I mean most people don't really NEED anything, or if they do it's not a gift type of thing. So when I find something that could work for a lot of different people I get excited. 

Today I'm sharing my go-to-gift guide for the person who already has it all. These ideas also work great for gift exchanges when you aren't shopping for a specific person. Hopefully it will be useful for you too!

Pictures from Amazon.com

1)Finish this Book is great for anybody, even kids! It involves the reader in completing the story. 
2)Perplexus Balls may look like a kid's toy (and kids do love them), but even adults will have fun with challenging puzzle.
3)Gourmet Salts are a unique gift for people who enjoy experimenting in the kitchen.
4)Bath Gift Baskets are great for anyone who enjoys relaxing and being pampered.  
5)Cooking for Geeks brings the science into the kitchen.
6)Bocce Ball Sets are so much fun. This game is basic enough for kids to play, but is also great for adults. 

Celebrating Memories

One important part of making memories for me is celebrating and sharing them with others. Significant dates are the easiest to make into memories (anniversaries, birthdays, etc.). This year I'm going to focus on birthdays - just immediate family of my husband and myself for now - it's ok to start small!

I feel like it's important to acknowledging birthdays of those close to you. Collect birthday's of those you want to remember and write them into your calendar, planner or phone. Make sure you make a reminder at least a week in advance so you have time to prepare everything! 

A physical gift isn't necessary - a well thought out letter detailing why you're grateful to have that person in your life is more meaningful and often more useful than giving them materialistic things. If you don't have time or resources for big gift, a card is great too.  

Sometimes it is nice to give an actual gift. I love picking out that perfect present and seeing how happy it makes someone. It makes me happy too! Often I find myself wondering what to give someone, so whenever I find a gift that could work for a number of people I save it. I'm going to be sharing my "go to gifts" in my next post. So stay tuned for more!

Displaying Memories

I am not an expert picture hanger. I think I've tried once and I'm pretty sure it was NOT level! Thus this goal is a little tough to master! I do have photos that are in "non-wall" frames (what would you call that?). But you can only devote so much shelf space to pictures. And so I have grandiose dreams of an entire gallery wall of photos. Realistic? Not really, but I can dream.

I've been trying to do some research (Pinterest counts as research right?) before I enlist my husband in a nail pound, frame hanging, head tilting party. I found this very helpful article from Better Homes and Gardens. In order to figure out the layout they suggest tracing your frames on scrap paper and taping it to the wall. I think this will work perfectly for us because you can adjust it and level it before you ever make a hole in your wall. Perfect!

What methods do you use for hanging pictures? Any suggestions before we take the plunge? 

SMASH Booking

I only recently purchased my first SMASH book and I'll be using it this whole year to record memories. They are a fairly inexpensive (I don't use a lot of embellishments) and hassle free version of scrap-booking. 

Step 1: Buy or make your own SMASH book. They really aren't too expensive ($9-$15 on Amazon) and they are a great creative outlet for recording your memories. My first book is this lovely green (eco-style) book. If you don't want to buy one, I've seen plenty of printables on Pinterest for making your own.

Step 2: Plan what you want your book to be used for. I actually used sticky notes and wrote out my plans for each page of my SMASH book. Throughout the year I can look ahead and know what I should be planning to get extra memorabilia from or to make sure to snap some pictures. 

Step 3: Print off photos at the end of each month, quarter, or year depending on how quickly you create your book. I'm doing one for the whole year and am planning on printing the photos off in December. 

Step 4: SMASH! Basically you glue in your photos, memorabilia (tickets, programs, leaves, flowers, recipes, newspaper and magazine clippings, hand prints, etc.), and any notes you want to make. The books come with a handy pen/glue stick so you can glue and write to your heart's content. 

Some ideas for SMASH book themes/topics:

• Wedding
• Baby pregnancy, birth, or first year
• Road trip
• School year
• Summer vacation
• Scripture study
• Art notebook
• Project inspiration
• Bucket list journal

What do you use your SMASH book for?

Monthly Family Photos

In my last post I wrote about the goals I have for this first month in my happiness project. I want to do a better job of maintaining memories for myself and my family. In my next several posts I'll take on each of my goals for the month in more detail. For this post I'm sharing my tips for making monthly family photos more manageable.

Schedule your photo: Schedule family photo in your calendar, phone, or planner. Make sure your spouse/family knows when it is scheduled for. 

Plan outfits ahead of time: Decide on a theme/color scheme if you are having one and again inform your family. There are lots of great ideas for color coordinating outfits on Pinterest. Make sure everyone has the clothes they need cleaned and ironed (if necessary) the day before. 

Plan and prepare the setting: Plan where everyone will sit and make sure you have stools, chairs, pillows, and the like to adjust everyone's heights. Will your photo have a theme (Christmas, Summer, etc.)? If so make sure you have any props/backgrounds ready. Multiple options make it easier to switch things up in between shots. 

Execute the photography: Have a tripod or level surface set up for your camera. Consider using a remote instead of a timer if you have one. You could even ask someone else to take the pictures for you if they are available. 

Record important information: I like to make a record with each family picture of the date, our ages, and any important things that have happened. For example, you can record anything from awards and new hobbies to hair cuts! It's fun to look back and see when changes happened. 

What does your family photo sessions look like? Any helpful tips?

The Happiness Project: January Goals

I mentioned in my last post that I am starting a happiness project this year based off of Gretchen Rubin's book. Each month I'll focus on a different goal (with sub-goals to get me there) towards making my life happier. Similarly to Rubin's motivation, I'm not undertaking this project because I'm actually unhappy - it's just that I don't think I'm happy enough. I've been enormously blessed (a wonderful husband, financially stable, a safe place to live, and the necessities and luxuries of life) and I feel that I should show it. I feel that all too often I don't seem happy enough and thus - hello happiness project!

January's overarching goal is memories. I want to remember all the little (and big!) things, be able to share them in the future, and cherish them forever. I believe that memories mean so much to us. Creating and treasuring them brings me a lot of happiness, but I usually don't do a very good job of doing this! I have several specific ideas to help with this goal:

• Monthly Family Photo - I'm not talking studio or professional shots. I'd like to have a record of us throughout the year. I don't think we record how we change through the year and there are so many changes! Just getting a quick photo once a month will help record these.
• SMASH Books - Those monthly photos are going to be added to my first ever SMASH book! SMASH books are like scrap books, but better in my opinion. They seem to be less time and effort intensive. They have cool backgrounds and prompts, come with a pen/glue stick, and in many different themes! They basically take a lot of the work out of scrap-booking. Perfect!
• Birthday Presents - My typical birthday present to my family is a phone call. Not too special right? I realize it's better than nothing, but I'm hoping to do a little better this year. The plan is to send each of mine and my husband's parents and siblings actual gifts (even if just a card with a written note) in time for their birthdays - the first is next week so I better get cracking! 
• Display Photos - I have plenty of digital and even printed photos as well as empty picture frames, however none of these are actually hanging from my walls. I'm hoping to get at least a couple up on display this month. I love looking at pictures of my family (especially couple shots of me and the hubs). Looking at those smiling faces just fills my heart with love and puts a smile on my face. Obviously and effective happiness strategy! 

How do you record your family's memories? Any tips or ideas for me? Please share!

Why a Blog?

I recently read Gretchen Rubin's "The Happiness Project" and have been itching to start my own project ever since. I decided to take some time planning it out (I'm a planner/list-maker) and thought starting it as a New Year's resolution would be a good idea. 

I chose to blog about my happiness project for two reasons:

• I think blogging will add a sense of commitment to my project. If I write out what I should be doing here I'll be more likely to follow through. That's the theory anyway, we'll see how it actually works out.

• I love reading blogs! I've been reading various blogs for a couple of years. I've been wanting to start my own for quite some time and, now that I have something specific to blog about, the time feels right!

I don't know if I would classify the blog as any particular genre, but if I had to choose I guess lifestyle would fit best. I'm hoping to share my journey on this happiness project along with my day to day experiences. Bon Voyage!