Catching Happiness

Good morning and happy Friday! Today I’ll be working on a new writing project (yay for freelance work), practicing some yoga (yay for gentle exercise), and cleaning my house (yay for…havi...

http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2024/04/link-love-tips-for-good-life.html

FRANCIS BARRAUD : HIS MASTER'S VOICE After writing last month’s Happy Little Thoughts newsletter (click here to subscribe if you don’t already), I’ve been thinking more about listening....

http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2024/04/for-your-listening-pleasure.html

I feel you, Luna Since it’s been full week, with the anniversary of my mom’s death, a solar eclipse, and multiple errands and appointments, today I’ll share with you this poem I love fr...

http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2024/04/tired.html

Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash When things go awry, as they did for me last year, it’s easy to let go of certain practices that bring you joy. I never stopped reading last year—i...

http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2024/04/returning-to-simple-pleasure.html

Recently we had some small dead trees cut down, leaving open space we’ve never had before in our naturally-landscaped backyard. The fall of those trees crushed the ferns growing beneath the...

http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2024/03/broken-blooming.html

“Of course you will and can want more. You should want more. But you should also spend time trying to want what you already have. It’s slightly different from ‘practicing gratitude’ o...

http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2024/03/why-we-should-remember-to-want-what-we.html

Over the past couple of years, we’ve been supported by two different chapters of Hospice, first with Carol and then with my mom. I can’t say enough good things about Hospice—I couldn’...

http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2024/03/are-you-carrot-egg-or-coffee-bean.html

Photo by Jen Theodore on Unsplash It’s no secret that I love a good list. In addition to ordinary to-do lists, I make seasonal fun lists, list of books I want to read, and more. I even h...

http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2024/03/happy-little-lists.html

Photo by Javier Allegue Barros on Unsplash “The way we think about growth often has us laser-focused on the end goal. Yes, we might be aware of the steps that it takes to get what we wan...

http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2024/02/keep-this-in-mind-when-setting-goals.html

Tomorrow will mark the one-year anniversary of my mother-in-law’s death. This week I’ve been mulling over what I might write about her to mark this milestone. I had no time to process her...

http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2024/02/the-blessing-of-memory.html

Photo by Harper Sunday on Unsplash Seven years ago, I wrote a post called “Treat Yo ’Self: 25 Simple Pleasures to Brighten Your Day.” It’s time to update that list, and since my �...

http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2024/02/treat-yoself-updated-2024-edition.html

My decluttered office bookshelves After a year in which I had little control over my time and even less over my emotions, I’m planning to make 2024 a year for restoring and building . I’v...

http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2024/02/february-already-2024-goals-check-in.html

Tank on left enjoying his first day home First off, I’m happy to say that Tank is doing well at home, and I’m much relieved that he seems to be continuing to recover (and he’s enjoying ...

http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2024/01/new-year-new-link-love-vol-iv.html

Photo by Andrik Langfield on Unsplash Happy belated New Year! I’m mostly back from my extended break after a productive, in-depth review of 2023. As I wrote in December’s Happy Little...

http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2024/01/some-assembly-required.html

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes…including you.” —Anne Lamott Thank you so much for taking the time to re...

http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2023/12/unplugging.html

My dog is on the nice list...usually Fall Fun List update: I did nearly everything on my list! Decorate the house for fall Burn fall-scented candles and diffuse fall scents in my essenti...

http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2023/12/fall-fun-list-recap-and-what-will-be-on.html

Image by Simon  from Pixabay I’m currently working my way through Susannah Conway’s free Unravel Your Year workbook  (no affiliation), looking back over the events and experiences ...

http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2023/12/the-good-bad-and-ugly-cry.html

Courtesy Positively Present I was pretty haphazard with my participation in the Gratitude Challenge this year. Some days it felt too hard to come up with something to post. Not that I’m not...

http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2023/12/2023-gratitude-challenge-wrap-up.html

“There are many more ordinary hours in life than extraordinary ones. We wait in line at the supermarket. We spend hours commuting to work. We water our plants and feed our pets. Happin...

http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2023/11/ordinary-hours.html

Me, lately. Photo by Jackson Simmer on Unsplash I’ve been feeling a bit scattered and all over the place lately, and this Link Love entry is going to reflect that. Funny flight attendant?...

http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2023/11/november-link-lovea-hodge-podge.html

During this past hard year, another writer/artist whose work has helped me manage my emotions and stay (relatively) positive and calm is MORGAN HARPER NICHOLS.  I thought you might enjoy Ni...

http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2023/11/inspiring-discoveries-morgan-harper.html

Photo by Suzanne D. Williams on Unsplash “The scratchy truth of existence is that we learn more from pain than pleasure. It’s just how we’re wired. It’s the pain that makes us slow...

http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2023/10/pain-prompts-us-to-grow.html

Photo by Nik on Unsplash After a busier than expected summer, I’m taking a short break to rest and regroup. I’m still dealing with some issues related to my mom’s estate and with put...

http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2023/10/taking-short-break.html

Paris in 2018 Recently, I’ve bumped into the French term la rentrée three separate times. First in a book I was reading, and then in a couple of online articles. Many people in France take...

http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2023/09/bienvenue-la-rentree-and-fall-fun-list.html

Photo by Prince David on Unsplash “Everywhere you look, you see people pursuing happiness as if it were something they could capture and cage. But pinning happiness down only destroys it....

http://www.catchinghappiness.com/2023/09/wild-thing.html