Happyforu will be ending the end of this month. It has been fun blogging with you all!!!!! I've gained a lot of insight from different perspectives on subjects. Let's end the website with a final word on happiness, and those words will spread good kharma amongst us and throughout  the internet. Thankyou everyone!!!!! Love, Barb

My word is  CONTENTMENT
 
 
I've often wondered why people lie about their age. Why? Maybe I'm not old enough to know that answer, but I've never looked at age as good or bad. It just is a fact of life. Weight is another thing I've always been honest about, and can't understand why people lie about it. I think weight is pretty obvious. If I weigh 200, why would I say 190? Are they going to like me more? Not.

Who cares has always been my motto about appearance. The one thing I have learned is that people are too concerned about themselves to pay much attention to me,,,,,,,my weight, my age, my no make-up face, the rip in my shorts etc......who cares? Not me. I think this is a little secret to keeping happy most of the time.

Most dishonest about.......how late I sleep in the mornings. This is a dirty little secret I have.....when someone calls me, and it's 10 am or later, and they detect my groggy voice, and say, "did I wake you?" I always say NO. Firstly, I don't want them to feel bad, and secondly, I am a little embarrassed. My closest friends and family do know not to call before noon, and sometimes I do wonder what they think. So, I still have this hangup of what people think of me. Maybe in ten years I won't care about this one either. What about you?
 
 
Just started a vegetable garden and need all the tips I can get from fellow gardeners! (especially with organic bug/bird/critter control)

Have read about getting plastic snakes to scatter around the garden  to scare away critters like squirrels. I don't know how it'll work, but I imagine that it would scare humans! That's going to be fun. I ordered 12 plastic snakes on ebay for $5.

Also, a gardener at the flea market told me to scatter human hair clippings around plants, because the animals hate the scent of human hair and will stay away. Since I cut my husband's hair, it's easy to save the clippings. Also, someone told me to use Marigolds for insect control.....bugs don't like the scent i guess.

What are some experiences/tips with gardening that you can add?
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Hmmmmmmm.......1,000 calorie dessert, or one with 300? That would definately affect my choice and health! I like the idea, because it will help me make better decisions when ordering. Ofcourse, if I really, really, really wanted the more fattening one, I would still get it. HA! 

The way I see it, our nation is eating out so much more now, especially young families, that everyone should be given the information as to what's in their meal. Maybe it'll help the obesity problem and help our nation to be healthier. "A healthy nation is a wealthy nation". The smart restaurants are already showing us the nutritional information. In my opinion, there needs to be more focus on prevention and incentives to have good health. That would definately keep health care costs down.

If the government doesn't guide us, who will? I've always had faith in our government, and I am not one of the bitter people out there bashing our government. I feel that people who get into government have a guiding principle to make things better. Ofcourse, there are always exceptions. If it wasn't for our government leading the way, I wouldn't have any security, and that comes from many sources, including, social security, police & fire protection, Our GREAT MILITARY protecting us, a savers tax credit for people who don't get a pension or 401K at work, and now the possibility to purchase affordable health insurance.

 I am the middle class, and I am grateful for our government. So yes, stay involved to make us the greatest nation, and I say yes, to keeping me informed of what I put in my mouth at restaurants, because information is power. It's all tied together. I know there will be many different points of views, and for that, I'm grateful too. What do you think?????

 
 
 
I was just talking to a friend recently about customer service, and WHERE HAS IT GONE? I'm wondering if it has declined everywhere  or is it a local phenomenon? Being in the service industry, I really appreciate getting great service when I'm out, and it seldoms happens. It's not even that it's not great......most of the time it's pretty darn aweful. It's like noone cares anymore. Most of the customer service people seem like they're just going through the motions and never go beyond what is the absolute minimum of what is required.

I don't know....maybe it's the low pay, maybe it's the younger generation, maybe it's that there is no security in the workplace anymore, maybe it's the lack of teaching in the homes and schools.......maybe, no probably, it's all of these. So, what the heck do I expect?

It just feels good to vent. I came to realize that there is a big problem with customer service when I have begun to confirm my own appointments,,,,not the other way around!!!!!! Share your experiences so I can feel that I'm not alone in this.
 
 
I've always watched the late night shows since I work nights and usually get home in time for them. Dave has always been my favorite. I think he's naturally more funny than the others. Sometimes his show is lame though.......that's the writers fault. I usually flip back and forth between them all and try to get a few laughs before bed. My favorite is Kevin, the black guitar player on Jay's show. His comments always cracked me up.Too bad for Conan O'brien, but at least he got a nice payout. Conan grew up in Boston and went to Harvard. Jay grew up in MA also. I didn't really care for Conan's show for some reason. Who do you favor?
 
 
Did you watch the Grammy's last night? I thought it was great! I love the Grammys, because it covers ALL KINDS OF MUSIC in one forum, and everyone appreciates each other's musical style. Why can't politics operate like that? HA! I don't personally like rap or hip hop,  but I did appreciate the artform for what it was last night.

Wasn't  the tribute to Micheal Jackson incredible!!!!!! Again, I loved the diversity of performers singing in that tribute. Did anyone else wonder who dresses Celine Dion? Ok, that was off-subject....couldn't help it. HA!
 
The most moving performance to me was by Mary J Blige and Andrea Bocelli......"A Bridge Over Troubled Water",  for the Haiti people. I was fascinated by the emotion that Mary J Blige was conveying, and then how Andrea Bocelli sensed/absorbed her energy and seemed to really become one with her. It was like watching something very divine for me and brought me to tears. Anyone else experience this last night? You can buy this song at www.itunes.com/target It's $1.39, and ofcourse it supports the efforts in Haiti. Share your thoughts & love of music with me!
 
Money Smarts 01/11/2010
 
Tracking my spending is the most helpful way to stay on top of my finances. There's something about writing things down and keeping track on paper.  I keep a little basket to drop any receipts in for logging that evening. It's so easy to forget about an expenditure.
 
It has become a game to log every single expenditure every day. The income gets logged too.  I have a chart which I make 12 copies each January to make my daily entries. It's all categorized....even "animal expense" is there. The most fun is at the end of the month, to add it all up and see how the in's and out's went. Do I have a profit or a loss for the month? If there's a loss, I just pull back on one of the spending colums the next month, or take on an extra shift at work.

The bottom line is that I always have a handle of where the hard-earned money is going. Some people don't even know how much they need to make in order to keep their lifestyle going. On the "Simple Budget" page, there's a link for Suzie Orman's interactive tracking worksheet. What other tips and tricks do you have to share?
 
 
 I just love the "2010 handbook" my friend Sheri just sent me. I posted it on this site under Happiness Made Easy. I love the tip about walking and smiling. Smiling just makes me feel better, and I love when people smile back.

My 2010 resolution is more of a general attention to live happy and healthy and give back. Add to the side of the good. What about you guys?
 
 
As the end of the year approaches, I always get into a reflective mode and wonder what it's all about......life in general, that is. I generally live with a underlying feeling that I'm not contributing enough, not helping enough, not giving back enough, and usually come down to the question of why the heck am I here? Well, this year, I got the best answer to this general question from my dear husband.

While on vacation recently, I spew all these philosophical queries out to him.....and the final question targeted to him was, "Why do you think you're here Hon?". In his most characteristic calm & insightful way, he said, "I'm here to add to the side of the good". It was the most simple answer.

I thought to myself.......Wow, maybe I can have that as my answer to life too! I've been sleeping a lot sounder knowing that I don't have to come up with a miraculous reason as to how I'm contributing or producing. I can simply be happy knowing that I'm adding to the side of the good.
Any further thoughts about this thing called life for this year's end?