I love the Olympics. They’ve been on TV and on my mind since they started. The competition, the fanfare, the stories… it’s a smorgasbord of good stuff for me. And it definitely makes me happy. Here’s a few of my favorite highlights right now:

Bode Miller wins his Olympic Gold. Photo from Guardian.co.uk.

Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo win their first Gold. Photo from Reuters.

Alexandre Bilodeau wins Canada’s first Gold on home soil and he did it for his brother. Photo from NY Daily News.

JR Celski wins bronze after making a comeback from a scary, career-threatening injury. Photo from Examiner.com.

This video was sent to me by my mom and I just had to share it with everyone. I loved it and really enjoyed how involved the entire hospital got in this project. Well done!

Everyone has heard, at some point or another, the old tip of “count to three” when you’re upset. Give yourself three seconds to try and calm down and not blow up on someone. It’s good advice for two different reasons:

1. Three seconds can really make the difference between losing your cool and keeping yourself together
2. It forces you to pay attention to your behavior rather than just reacting to whatever comes your way

There is a ton of advice out there on things that you can do when you’re upset to calm down. Things like:

• Take a walk
• Count to ten (when three just isn’t enough)
• Scream into a pillow
• Focus on your breathing
• Journal
• Turn on loud music and dance your heart out

I think you get the idea. What do you do when you’re upset?

Image Credit: http://awesome.ly/2009/07/calm-down-its-just-a-lamp/

Yes, that title is correct. Snow is making me happy this Monday morning. Granted, in a couple of weeks I’ll most likely be singing a different tune, but for now, I’m enjoying it.

And the best part of snow lately? The kids have been having a blast playing in it. What more could I ask for?

I am an avid reader. Ever seen Gilmore Girls? You know how Rory Gilmore never leaves home without a book in her purse? Yeah, that’s me. So it’s a common thing for me to go content hunting on Twitter. I especially love finding lists of people in different categories that might be good to follow on Twitter and I really love finding authors to follow.

Recently, I came across a list from Forbes Woman that was entitled 14 Power Women to Follow on Twitter. On that list was one woman that really intrigued. Her name is Gretchen Rubin. Gretchen has had a completely fascinating life. From her site:

A graduate of Yale and Yale Law School (where she was editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal), Rubin started her career as a lawyer, and she was clerking for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor when she realized she really wanted to be a writer. Raised in Kansas City, she lives in New York City with her husband and two young daughters.

With that kind of life, where else can you go? According to Gretchen, she had an epiphany and decided to pursue happiness. She started a year-long happiness project and wrote a book called The Happiness Project. The whole idea is really intriguing me, so I’ve already purchased the book and started to check our her blog and the Happiness Project Toolbox. I’m going to start my own Happiness Project and I’ve decided that 2010 is my year of pursuit. I’m not just going to want to be happy or try to be happy. I’m going to pursue happiness.

Want to join me?

My husband told me about this story the other day and I’m still amazed at this. Imagine, if you can, a woman who goes into labor and both she and the baby die during the delivery. Suddenly and without explanation, both of their hearts start beating.

You can see the whole story here:

Starting in early December for the past couple of years, I’ve seen the same topic come up on Twitter and Facebook not to mention in team meetings within my company, discussions between myself and husband and various social networks that I belong to.

Goals for the new year.

So many people get excited about the New Year and yes, so do I. I can’t help it. There’s something about a fresh start that appeals to me. I’ve tried in past to do New Year’s Resolutions. But I’ve given up on that. Yes, you read that right.

I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions.

And I don’t think you should either.

Why? Well, let’s start with the basics. According to Dictionary.com, here is the definition of a resolution:

–noun

1. a formal expression of opinion or intention made, usually after voting, by a formal organization, a legislature, a club, or other group. Compare concurrent resolution, joint resolution.
2. a resolve or determination: to make a firm resolution to do something.
3. the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc.
4. the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute; firmness of purpose

Apart from the first definition, the word looks appealing. It looks concrete. But here’s the thing: most people don’t make resolutions as concrete. They get gym memberships (most places have severe discounts this time of year knowing full well that most people will stop coming after a month or two). They scout out local Whole Foods stores to improve their diets. They get hair cuts, makeovers, and new wardrobes. They buy journals, scour the internet for educational opportunities and they buy tons of books from Amazon. They tweet about it, post their resolutions on blogs and Facebook and share their promises with their closest friends. But by mid-February a vast majority of these resolutions fall by the wayside. Because people don’t really understand what resolutions truly are.

So don’t make a resolution. Instead, make a plan. It’s much better than a “resolution” because there are action steps included. And for extra measure, throw in a level of accountability. Who are you going to check in with while you carry out your plan? Trust me, it works.

I love coffee. No, seriously… I LOVE Coffee. In fact I think I will capitalize the word anytime I write it now to show my reverence of this beverage that greets me first thing in the morning. Don’t believe me? Enjoy this post about my beloved Coffee maker. For me, there is nothing better than a piping hot mug of Coffee in the early morning hours as life gets going.

I’m also a fan of the details so I kind of a snob picky about the mugs that I drink out of. Mondays are better because of the mugs that I get to drink from. Without further ado here are my favorite Coffee mugs:

Why do I love this one? Not sure. Maybe I just feel cultured… or something.

This is an example of hometown proud. You truly haven’t lived unless you’ve had a Kewpee burger. And you can only get them in Lima, OH.

I love Lake Placid. I have some great memories of a couple of family trips we have taken there. Plus I love the Olympics. I picked this mug up on our last trip for a friend’s wedding.

Here’s an oldie but goodie. My Dad gave me this mug when I was in college (just as I was discovering the wonderousness of this thing called Coffee) and I was studying theatre at the time. This mug has a Shakespeare quote on it and has survived several moves. Plus it’s a mega mug. What more could I ask for?

I love color like this. I picked this up on a recent trip to DC to visit my parents. I love the feeling of this mug when I hold it. And the hand-painted art work makes me smile.

I adore this mug for two reasons. The first is that my sister-in-law gave it to me as a gift right before she married my baby brother this past summer. The second reason is that it’s massive. One refill in this mug is like two regular cups of Coffee. Yum.