Archive for the 'Life' Category

November 23rd, 2015

Little Happy Things

Lately I’ve noticed that I have been happier. It’s not that I wasn’t before I guess, but I remember feeling very stressed out a few months ago. I think it was mainly being overwhelmed at work and not being fully prepared for my team’s growth. I was mentoring 3 interns, had 4 new hires start around the same time, and was switching to more of a management position.

Don’t get me wrong; I was relieved to have more people! My team definitely needed the help! It took me a few months of trying new things to organize all the chaos. Now we have found what works for us, are working together well, and my team has told me that they really like my management style. Even if my work is still as busy as before… it feels really good now which makes me happy 🙂

And when things feel good, even little things just put me in a very good mood. Some small things that have made me happy…

  • Knowing alternate routes to work and feeling like a car ninja when I take back roads to bypass traffic.
  • Quoting a lesser known movie I love and having people recognize and respond to it. “You use this word? Alcoves?” “Nooks and crannies, yes!”
  • Looking at my work calendar for the day and seeing it free of meetings. (This is a rarity now.)
  • Having people miss me while I was out on vacation and then having them joke that I’m not allowed to leave anymore XD;;
  • Randomly finding Pocky flavors I haven’t tried yet. Did you know there’s a chocolate banana flavor?
  • When my husband has the same food craving as me. “What should we eat tonight?” “I kind of want ramen…” “I was thinking the same thing!”
  • Hanging up new art on the walls.
  • Emptying the vacuum cleaner and seeing how much it picked up. (Ok this is also kind of gross, but it’s satisfying, you know?)
  • When the radio station plays several songs in a row that I like.
  • That last hour in the work day when most people have gone home, and I can do a bit of coding.
  • Post processing my photos and feeling proud of the results. Here’s a preview of what I’ll be sharing in my first Maui entry!

maui_2015_21_640px

Are there any small things that have made you happy too? I hope everyone has a great week!

14 · Posted in Random
October 11th, 2015

8 photos of happiness

I’ve been wanting to do this tag since I’ve seen it around, and then Georgie tagged me! Thanks Georgie! 😀 Picking only 8 is pretty tough, but it was fun because it made me look through old photos and really made me remember some great times.

Rules

  • Thank your nominator/s and link them in your post.
  • Link the creator (Ariel).
  • Post your 8 photos of happiness.
  • The photos can be anything that represents a moment, object, place or feeling that makes you happy.
  • Pop in a brief description of the photo, why you chose it or let the photos do the talking.
  • Spread the happiness and tag up to ten other bloggers.

Hawaii 2011

happiness_hawaii

This was our honeymoon! (We took the photo with a tripod and remote shutter.) I thought about picking an engagement or wedding photo, but really, the honeymoon is when all the wedding stress is over and we can just relax and enjoy each other’s company 😉 We went to Hawaii for the first time – Kauai first and then Oahu. It was a great trip that started our obsession with Hawaii. We’re currently planning our fourth trip back!

College: UTACM

happiness_acm

I joined the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) in college, and in my second year, I joined their officers group which really changed my life. I made lasting friends who I still see and have so many happy memories from it. It was definitely the highlight of my college life. Many of us took classes and studied together, and much of my free time was spent hanging out in our club’s office. I also met my husband in it!

This photo is after one of our “Broomball” events played at a hockey rink, except we have a ball, paddles, and we use our shoes instead of skates. There is a lot of falling, which is part of the fun 😉

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17 · Posted in Photography, Random
April 16th, 2015

Home Decor – entryway

We had a messy entryway for a while because we had wooden boards and flattened cardboard boxes leaned against the wall. A few months ago, we cleaned those out, and while it looked better, it still looked very plain.

entryway_01

I wanted to do something about it! At the very least, I wanted something for guests to sit down at while they put on their shoes. I had a few things in mind:

  1. A console table and two chairs – one on each side of the table
  2. A bench and a coat rack
  3. A bench and wall hooks

I ended up going with idea #2. I liked the idea of using a bench because it could fit more people, and it doubles as a shoe rack. I’ve also always liked the look of coat racks. They can look nice when empty and are also functional to hang things on.

So we bought them!

entryway_02

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12 · Posted in Home Decor
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