#100HappyDays Day 7: Laughing about silly things, like finding out I'm Camilla from the muppets.

Day #7

Days don't have to be extraordinary to be amazing and today proved that point. Mike and I took a break to fill out some of the funnier quizzes that have been floating around Facebook and I learned that I would be Daenerys from Game of Thrones (dragons, please and thank you), Amy Farrah Fowler from Big Bang Theory, Hagrid from Harry Potter (I do love animals), and Camilla from The Muppets. I actually didn't know very much about Camilla and at first I was a little bit peeved (in fact, I tried to re-take the test 4 times but I always got Camilla) so I did some research on her and she actually is pretty cool. At one point during The Muppets Movie, she yells "mouth to beak resuscitation," which is a great line and I have enjoyed yelling it out for no apparent reason.

#100HappyDays Day 6: A Steaming Hot Bubble Bath

Day #6

During Chiberia all I could think about was taking a pipping hot bath filled with bubbles. Yet, of course, the temperatures outside made getting steamy water into our condo really difficult and we had to make do with tepid showers. Now that it is up to a balmy 41 degrees, I finally was able to revel in a hot bath complete with a cat spying on me from the safety of the dry bathmat.

 

It is surprisingly hard to find bubble bath these days. Now, everything is a shampoo/ body wash/ bubble bath combo and, in my experience, the bubbles from those mixes are measly and dissolve very quickly. I went out today specifically to find bubble bath and the only straight-up bubble bath produce I could find was actually in little pouches to be used as Christmas Tree ornaments (I think that is a super cute idea!). Anyway, since Christmas has come and gone, these puppies were on supper sale so I stocked up on them. It doesn't matter to me if I smell like holiday treats all year long! Thankfully, not only are these bubble bath pouches cute, their bubbles are very robust. I had a great afternoon soak and am feeling more relaxed than ever.

#100HappyDays Day 4: The Combination of Pizza, Beer, and Football

Day #4

Today scored pretty high on the frustration front but Mike made the evening a whole lot better by ordering one of our favorite pizzas (the Almost Gourmet with added shrimp - because I add shrimp to everything) from Pizza Capri. The great thing about Pizza Capri is that it right next door to our condo so getting take out just requires us to go out the backdoor. Mike was able to pick it up during one of the many commercial breaks of the Seahawks and Saints game. We paired it with beer from a good local brewery, Two Brothers' Prairie Pale Ale.

Mike loves watching sports but I wasn't as huge a fan of football until our household starting keeping stats on footballs with bird and cat mascots. Since we are a cat household, I always root for the cats! Sadly, the Saints ended up loosing. Thankfully, the Patriots are up next, a team my mom and I really enjoy watching. We're hoping this one goes our way!

#100HappyDays Day 3: A Piece of Belgian Chocolate

Day #3

For Christmas, Mike's grandparents from Belgium brought us each a box of beautiful and delicious chocolate. Each piece is a work of art: the physical appearance of each is spectacular and the taste is even more divine. We try to just eat one piece a day but Mike is much better at that sort of self-control than I am. My box is half empty but his still shows off the beauty of the compilation (thus, I had to borrow his box for the photos).

 For my piece of chocolate I chose a piece with a raspberry ganache inside. When I was little and we bought fancy chocolates, my mom always insisted that we savor each one, letting it melt in our mouth. I followed this advice yesterday. I'm really looking forward to making the rest of my box last, or at least sneaking a piece or two from Mike's when mine runs out.

#100HappyDays Day 2: A Warm Hearth

#100HappyDays Day #2

One of my favorite aspects of our house is our gas fireplace. I'll turn it on in the morning while I drink coffee, read or write during the day, and snuggle up Mike or Otho in the evening. Feeling the heat of the fire wrap itself around you like a hug is so soothing and comforting. The snuggles by the fire are an added bonus and, as you can see from the photos, they aren't always reciprocated.

#100HappyDays Day 1: Finding My Way to My Yoga Mat

#100HappyDays Day #1

Today, I found my way back to my yoga mat after a prolonged absence. Sure, I had been traveling away from my yoga studio, I was a bit sick, and the Polar Vortex hit Chicago but I still should have made time for myself. Yoga is a practice of failure in the best possible way. There is always something more to work towards in yoga, which takes away the feeling of accomplishing of a task and oh how I love instant gratification! Instead, in yoga, you push yourself to your body's limit and when you hit that limit, you fall out of a pose. That 'failure' defines our abilities and teaches us that accomplishment isn't a task, its a process. Thus, every day you make it to your mat, you succeed. 

My motivation to make it to my mat today was that one of my favorite yoga teachers was leading a practice at CorePower Yoga in Hyde Park.  An 8am C2 cleared my mind for the day and reinvigorated my desire to make it to the studio daily.   

Namaste.