When Life Stinks, Find Your Joy!
Issue No. 35 May 1, 2009
Click, click, click:
 
 
 
Talk to me!
What brings YOU joy?! 
Kelly Epperson 
PO Box 2324 
Loves Park, IL 61131
kel_epperson@yahoo.com     www.kellyepperson.com
 
 
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May Day!
Does that make you think flowers, spring, May baskets, and dancing around the May Pole?
 
Or does that make you think mayday!mayday! I'm in distress, send help.
 
Honestly, sometimes I feel a little of both.
 
Last year I danced around the May Pole at Womanspace. We got into the rhythm, weaving through each other up and down, round and round,  and ended with the pole braided in glorious colors of ribbon. I highly recommend it.
 
Your joy assignment for this week: buy flowers for yourself and someone else. You can give them anonymously if you want.
 
    
 
Words to ponder:
 
Within our dreams and our aspirations
we find our opportunities.
~Sue Atchley Ebaugh
 
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Joy = Wisdom
 
Defeat is not the worst of failures.
Not to have tried is the true failure.
--George E. Woodberry

 
Joy = Music
Song lyrics stuck in my  head and my heart:
If I had one wish, I'd wish for two
One for me, baby, and one for you....
~Sugarland, "April Showers" 
 
 
 
Joy = Being a word nerd
What word in the English Language is always spelled incorrectly?
Answer:  Incorrectly 
- that's for/from Harry H
 
Joy = You can. Yes, you can.
 

Feel the fear and do it anyway.
 
 
Joy = Oh Mighty Isis
 
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Joys of Motherhood
 
(The year we lived in France, we met a wonderful couple from England, Nic & Kathy. They moved back home the same time we did and since have had two beautiful daughters, close in age. This is from their blog:)
 
Katie in baby bouncer hanging from door,
Not long had food.
Summer is helping Katie to bounce by pushing her head into Katies tummy.
Katie is sick all over Summer's head.
Both girls looked quite pleased with the result.

Both girls had bath that evening!
~Kathy Allen, Leicester, England  

Joy Droppings
What brings me joy lately?
                                                     
* Pomegranate martinis with the chicks
* Clean clutter-free office
* Clean clutter-free bedroom
* Clean clutter-free mind (oops, have not achieved that yet)
*  Kindess of friends and the kindness of strangers
 
 
 
 
 
Joy = Teenage Boys
Firstborn son is 16 and a sophomore, and starting to receive "we want you" letters from colleges. My response: "I'm not ready!" Neither is he. When asked his career goals, he said,
"Cowboy 
Astronaut
Millionaire"

Joy = You
Happy Incredible Fabulous Joyous Birthday Wishes to:
  
RUTH P, New Milford
MARY T, Rockford
ANGIE S, Rockford
 
Three amazing ladies, I wish you amazing celebration.
 
Hey you, if your birthday is this week, let me knowl    
 
Confessions: It is much easier for me to send girlie joy gifts. BUT my first "boy" winner, March birthday winner, David Moser, Abingdon, IL cracks me up. When I emailed him for his snail mail  address, he replied, "If my joy prize is a new truck, my favorite color is blue."
 
Because I struggled to find manly joy gifts, and I was tardy getting anything in the mail, his goodie bag included a lucky shamrock magnet,  sticky notes, fake tattoos, a new toothbrush (there is nothing more joyful than a fresh toothbrush), and a sparkly blue Matchbox car.
 
April Birthday Prize Winner is Joan Pfeifer! Joan, please do not be offended if you receive a more traditional joy gift!                                                        
 
   
(New JOY seekers/spreaders: Let me know your bday. At the end of each month, I draw a name and one birthday person gets a joy present in the mail.)
 
 
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Joy = Books & Movies
Book Pick This Week =      This is Your Brain on Joy by Dr. Earl Henslin
 
Brain research and Joy, how cool is that. And the good scientist dude recommends books, music, and movies!   Yeah baby! We're on to something here! (Thanks Mary Kay Morrison for book pick. You rock!)
 
Flick Pick This Week =       Patch Adams
 
You know his story, yes? This doctor knew humor helped healing and he was one of the founders of AATH, Association for Applied and Therapuetic Humor, of which I am now a member. No matter what we may be going through, humor helps.
 
 
 
Quote Junkie
 
 "Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion.
You must set yourself on fire."
-Arnold H. Glasgow; humorist



Joy =French Lesson
 
 Eat, drink, and be merry.
 
Joy =The Coffee Pot Cafe
 
 Somewhere between Asheville, NC and Greenville, SC.
nc
 
Joy = Made me laugh
FROM BECKY H, ROCKTON:
Mr. Goldberg wakes up in the hospital, bandaged from head to foot. The doctor comes in and says, 'Ah, I see you've regained consciousness. Now, you probably won't remember, but you were in a pileup on the freeway. You're going to be okay, you'll walk again and everything, but..... something happened. I'm trying to break this gently... but the fact is... your penis was chopped off in the wreck and we were unable to find it.'   

Goldberg groans, but the doctor goes on, 'You've got $9000 in insurance compensation coming to you, and we have the technology to build you a new penis  that will work as well as your old one did... maybe even better! But the thing is, it doesn't come cheap. It's $1000.00 per inch.' 
 
Goldberg perks up at this! 'So,' the doctor says, 'It's for you to decide how many inches you want. But it's something you'd better discuss with your wife. I mean, if you had a five inch one before, and you decide to go for nine inches, she might be a bit put out. But if you had a nine inch one before, and you decide only to invest in five inches this time, she might be disappointed. So it's important that she plays a role in helping you make the decision.' 
 
The doctor comes back the next day.'So, have you spoken with your wife?' 
 
'I have,' says Mr. Goldberg. 
 
'And has she helped you in making the decision?' 
 
'Yes, she has,' he says. 
 
'And what is it?' asks the doctor. 

 
'We're getting granite countertops.'


Joy = Never Give Up
 
One is wise to cultivate the tree that bears fruit in our soul.
 ~Henry David Thoreau
 

 
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Joy = TV Girl
  
Nichole Vrsansky, WIFR 23, is adorable, smart, and joyful. She did her best to put me at ease, but on camera I'm nervous. I have no idea what came out of my mouth, but the point I wanted to make is simply that humor helps.  Take your little corner of the world and spread a smile. What the world needs now is love, sweet love.
 
When the piece airs, I will let you know.
 
Thank you, Nichole, I appreciate your time and genuine kindness.
Joy = Yahoo Headline
  
"Denial may be the key to a happy marriage, study finds."
Joy = Made me smile
FROM CHANNAHON CONNIE:
 
The old man placed the order for one hamburger, French fries and a drink.

He unwrapped the plain hamburger and carefully cut it in half, placing one half in front of his wife.

He then carefully counted out the French fries, dividing them into two piles and neatly placed one pile in front of his wife.

He took a sip of the drink, his wife took a sip and then set the cup down between them. As he began to eat his few bites of hamburger, the people around them watched, obviously thinking, 'That poor old couple - all they can afford is one meal for the two of them.'

As the man began to eat his fries, a young man came to the table and politely offered to buy another meal for the old couple. The old man said they were just fine - they were used to sharing everything.

The little old lady hadn't eaten a bite. She sat there watching her husband eat and occasionally taking turns sipping the drink.

Again, the young man came over and begged them to let him buy another meal for them. This time the old woman said 'No, thank you, we are used to sharing everything.'

Finally, as the old man finished and was wiping his face neatly with the napkin, the young man again came over to the little old lady who had yet to eat a single bite of food and asked 'What is it you are waiting for?'

She answered, 'THE  TEETH.' 
JOY = Barbie at 50
 
 b
 
 
thanks candice!
JOY = Sing a song
 
 
 
tune playing at the moment...   
 
You can chase a dream that seems so out of reach,
and you know it might not ever come your way,
dream it anyway
 
"Anyway" Martina McBride


JOY = Words to live by
 
 
 
Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him,
and then choose that way with all his strength. 
Hasidic saying

Joy = Vocabulary
Today's Word: Schlimazel (Noun)

Pronunciation: [shl�-'mah-z�l]

Definition: A person with no luck at all, a sort of loser who magnetically attracts misfortune.

Usage: Today's word is almost always defined in terms of interaction between schlimazels and schlemiels. According to Leo Rosten (Hooray for Yiddish!), if a waiter spills the soup he is carrying, he is a schlemiel; the person who gets it down the neck is a schlimazel. When a schlemiel accidentally knocks over a priceless vase, he blames the nearest schlimazel. 
 
(If you are not singing the theme song from Laverne & Shirley right now, you are not my age demographic.)

Joy = My godson Tanner in Iowa
 
 
 
"Hey Kelly,  Just thought I would let you know I got an extra credit point in English from your "Joy" letter because I found a vocabulary word in it."
 

Feel the fear and do it anyway.
Life is a journey and facing new challenges is part of the ride.
Feel the fear and do it anyway.
Anything worth doing has an element of risk. If we didn't take that leap of faith, no one would ever get married, leave a marriage, have a baby, start a business, buy a house, take a trip, trust a friend, take a class, find a new career, invent stuff, create stuff, write a song, write a poem, paint a painting, and on and on. Maybe life can be a little scary sometimes. Feel the fear and do it anyway.   
 
joyfully,                                                                    
xx kelly         
 
 
                                                                
 
Joy =  Parting Shot
 
... do it anyway.....
 
let go
 
leap
 
let go
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