Cease, cows, life is short!

4th Annual Ornament Parade - Day 2

Ninotchka B. — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 23:32:08 +0000

What is it that they say about having to kiss many frogs before finding your prince? I always thought I was lucky not to have to do that. You know, find someone to share my life with by the process of elimination. But then I remembered that's sort of how Guy found me (he was a loooooong-time bachelor before I came along) and I decided I should probably shut up. And also? Count my lucky stars.

This little guy came via an ornament exchange. Love those!

4th Annual Ornament Parade - Day 1

Ninotchka B. — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:15:54 +0000

Starfish Santa. Purchased in Monterey, CA during our fabulous California vacation this past summer. I love Santa. And Monterey.

All Ornaments, All the Time

Ninotchka B. — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 14:57:22 +0000

Can you believe it's that time of year again? I most certainly cannot. But it is. As I write this, I'm listening to Guy and The Littles (Elle & Anna Sofia) in the front room assembling the Christmas tree - yes, we have had artificial for the past 9 years, it's just easier that way - and playing. So, yeah. Ornaments. That's what you'll be seeing here for most of December. If you've been with me a while, you know this is what I've done on the ol' blog the past few years. If not, feel free to familiarize yourself: here, here and here.

I will leave you with this one word meme that I'm borrowing from Jerri Ann. You should head on over to her million and one blogs for a BIG CHRISTMAS GIVE-AWAY EXTRAVANGAZA. Seriously, she's giving away a bunch of good stuff or so I've heard. Go check it out.

Where is your cell phone? charging

Where is your significant other? decorating

Your hair? bun

Your mother? adored

Your father? reunited

Your favorite thing? life

Your dream last night? none

Your dream/goal? love

The room you’re in? kitchen

Your fear? gone

Where do you want to be in 6 years? here

Where were you last night? home

What you’re not? unhappy

Muffins? cranberry

One of your wish list items? Kindle

Where you grew up? Florida

The last thing you did? eat

What are you wearing? Pajamas

Your TV? news

Your pet? Charlie

Your computer? laptop

Your life? wonderful

Your mood? optimistic

Missing someone? yes

Your car? Volvo

Something you’re not wearing? socks

Your summer? sunny

Love someone? MANY

Your favorite color? red

When is the last time you laughed? today

Last time you cried? forgotten

Smelly weeds

Ninotchka B. — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 13:38:27 +0000

Edited to Add - The "Happiness is the new black" blog has been updated with our first themed post, enjoy!: Gratitude

From my garden: alyssum, sage, rosemary & a few Texas Indian Blankets blooms at various stages.

Get Thee to a Store

Ninotchka B. — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 15:06:47 +0000

Meet Henny Penny:

Inspired by this picture. This Thanksgiving centerpiece is so easy, you could run out to the store & have it made within the hour or less. Consider it my Thanksgiving gift to you.

You'll need:

- 1 pineapple

- 1 yellow squash

- 1 chili pepper

- 1 bunch of asparagus

- toothpicks

- a Sharpie to draw the eyes on

The rest is pretty self explanatory, yes?

Tip: the squash will require several toothpicks to anchor it to the pineapple.

Grab some fall leaves and/or foliage from outside your door for the base and whatever other decorations you can dig up (that corn is from a centerpiece I made years ago) and BWALAH! The Littles helped me with it which is the very best part. So fun. Elle named her.

You're welcome and Enjoy!

Much love, my friends. On this holiday and always, I'm so grateful for the many wonderful blessings in my life. Consider yourselves counted among them.

Let's Keep It Going

Ninotchka B. — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 23:04:49 +0000

I've been woefully neglectful of the happiness blog lately though there's no shortage of "happy" here, I assure you. There's also been no shortage of sinus crud, crankiness, sleep deprivation & general bitchiness but those are mere annoyances so they kind of don't count. Wouldn't you agree? Just keeping it real. he he he

So, how about we kickstart it with a nice, long gratitude post? Seems timely, n'est ce pas? I hope you'll share. Feel free to post your "I'm thankful for's..." here in the comments and I'll copy them over there. That or you can email them to thehappyblog@gmail.com or DM them on Twitter to @thehappyblog.

Thanks, darlings! I hope the ensuing rumination is a joy in of itself.

Blurb Book

Ninotchka B. — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:21:51 +0000

I totally forgot to tell you guys that I published a book of my Through the Viewfinder ABC's on Blurb. You can preview part of it here and learn more about ordering your own copy here. I didn't mark it up because I find Blurb to be a tad pricey. Also, I'm not looking to get rich. I ordered one for myself and it gives you the option to "publish" so I figured, why not?

Anyway, it turned out pretty cool, if I say so myself and I've thouroughly enjoyed my copy. I hope to be inspired to do more in the future.

Brava

Ninotchka B. — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:11:27 +0000

Natalie has chosen to write a school paper about her trichotillomania. She got up in front of her entire class yesterday to read the introduction (the kids thought it was cool which we both thought was hilarious). I couldn't be prouder of her. She interviewed me for it. Her first question was "How did you feel when you first discovered I had trichotillomania?" I'll tell you how I felt. I felt like I must have done something horribly wrong to make my child want to pull out her hair. I didn't know everything there was to it. I didn't know the neurological aspects. I didn't know it was an impulse control disorder. There was so much I didn't know. Being the self-absorbed fool that I can sometimes be, I immediately thought it was ME and that my perfect, beautiful "golden child" was now "damaged goods." Honest, that's what I thought. Isn't that horrid? It's a hard admission to make. It's hard for hot, angry tears not to well up in my eyes as I write that. It's hard not to feel a momentary resentment toward my stupid former self. Thank God, I didn't spend too much time in that space. I'm not perfect, far from it. But I can and repeatedly strive to make things right. Here we are three years later and Natalie is this gorgeous, bright and spirited brave soul who is the polar opposite of "damaged goods." She's far surpassed her "golden child" status. She's so much more of a treasure than I could have ever imagined she would be and more goodness than I probably deserve, though I'll gladly take it.

c'est beau la vie

Ninotchka B. — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:45:28 +0000

Today was a good day. No, it was a great day.

- I had coffee with the always lovely and wise Dana

- I volunteered in Elle's class during Writer's Workshop - helping the kiddos write, edit & publish their stories - they're so CUTE (I do this every Monday now)

- I enjoyed my husband for lunch

- I took a refreshing fall afternoon walk with Charlie Brown

- ...and I received a wonderful package from Irene, my Parisian sister, as I like to call her.

Behold!

I should note that the adorable émilie book is mine (ALL MINE!), the French teen mag is for Natalie, the Babar coloring book is for Anna Sofia and the newspaper is for the entire family to enjoy (Elle kissed it - ha ha ha).

Not shown: Elle's favorite Haribo strawberry gummy candies, a passion for which she developed when Irene gave me some to bring home when I visited last year and Irene's incredibly gorgeous postcards. Yes, postcards with an "s." I ordered only one but somehow a couple more snuck through. These cards are so much more than vehicles of correspondence. These cards are ART. The paper that they're printed on alone is worth drooling over. I hope Irene doesn't mind me gushing about them to you and telling you that you'd be an absolute fool not to order some to keep and gift. They're just THAT gorgeous.

Also, I hope the multiples weren't a mistake (remember, I ordered only one) because I have no intention of being honest and returning the surplus. Shhh, don't tell Irene. :D

Merci, amie cherie. Je t'aime.

Worth flipping out over

Ninotchka B. — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 01:20:29 +0000

My little cuddle bear. Just look at that schweet wittle face.