Live the JOY: You See What You Look For

Live the Joy
JOY ~ Journey of You December 17, 2010

Quick Links

www.kellyepperson.com

JOY Letter Archives

Past joy droppings feed the soul.

JOY every week!

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ITALY WITH ME MAY 2011?

JOY readers are signing up!
Save $200!

Hi Everyone! Feeling stressed? Eat another cookie! ;)

I know this a crazy busy time, BUT...

Watch this 3 minute video.
I admit it. The first time I watched this, I only saw what I was told to look for. (How did you do?)
Exactly the lesson to be learned. We see what we tell ourselves to see. Do you have attention blindness?
Start telling your brain to look for beauty, kindness, caring, love, joy, peace, fun, happiness, calm, abundance, awe. You'll see it and be amazed that it was there right before your eyes and you just didn't register it.
The brain is a beautiful,magical, mystical thing. Tell yours you want a life a joy. It will say a resounding YES!

Words to Ponder:
If you look for the bad in people, surely you will find it.
Abe Lincoln

If you look for the good, surely you will find it.
Kelly Epperson

JOY DROPPINGS

What brings me JOY lately....

A chance to go to Romania, however I cannot go. The trip is May 2011 when I go to Italy. If Romania is your heart's desire, ask Sister Cities chair, Ramona Cornea at r.cornea@comcast.net
All the snow angel stories and pics from you! Most of you also remind me of your age, which proves the point getting older means getting wiser!
Calendar from the BonBon Queen Charlene of South-n-France in North Carolina. I love her story. No, we have never met;just via the wonderful wide world of web.
Not feeling so bad about postponing FREE HUGS day last Sunday upon learning that O'Hare cancelled 1600 flights and brought out 200 cots. (That's where we needed to be passing out hugs!)
Rescheduling FREE HUGS for this Sunday, Dec 19, 3 pm, Cherry Vale Mall
Christmas lights
Cards in my mailboxes
A stove with all four burners that light with a whoosh!
Stepping up and stepping in and taking action
Sticky notes
Highlighter pens with sticky note tabs!
Filling JOY Boutique orders
Saying "JOY Boutique"
Lining up superdeeduper guest speakers for Happiness Club
Making new JOY connections
Bananas

What I like about ME

JOY Journal= daily joy droppings, quotes that speak to you, books you want to read, movies you want see, songs that grab you, things you want to do, AND "Things I Like About Me." The greater your self-confidence and like of self, the greater your level of happiness. What I like about me...

* I am a gangly giraffe on ice skates but gave it a whirl anyway. I cannot twirl or spin or ice dance (yet), but it was so beautiful to be on the (fake) ice in the snowstorm last Saturday night that kept everyone away. We had the place to ourselves: twinkle lights, perfect tunes, snow falling softly, and stiff rental skates. It was winter joy.
* I took the karoake stage for the first time ever. No one threw tomatoes.
* I am getting more comfortable on camera.

Birthday Love

HAPPYHAPPYJOYJOY BIRTHDAY WISHES TO:

BETH CHRISTENSEN

KATHIE MEREDITH

KAREN SCHEFFELS

KAREN WILLINGHAM

RICHARD VARGAS

AND to

ALL who are celebrating this week!

(Send in your birthday. Each month a name is drawn for a JOY prize delivered via snail mail.)

Sage Advice

It is not wise to let anything come between us and our joy.

Tony Burroughs

Love this...

A Book On Every Bed
great gift idea - the gift of reading

Thanks, Mary Lamphere, for sharing!

I could suggest a gazillion books, like this one from my friend John Gile
read

Click and read

Kelly's newspaper column -

Take the Wheel

Kelly's blog for healthyrockford.com -

hey joy spreaders

Lyrics to Love

Someone calls me Eleanor (lovingly) and someone calls me a turtle (lovingly).
The Turtles had a song called Elenore.

"Elenore, gee I think you're swell."
"I really think you're groovy. Let's go out to a movie."

I bet you know this Turtles tune - Happy Together
I sang it to my boys when they were babies: I can't see me lovin' nobody but you for all my life...
I mommyfied many songs.

And, of course, there's those other turtles.
Turtle Power!

Poor Charlie Brown...

"This is my "depressed stance." When you're depressed, it makes a lot of difference how you stand. The worst thing you can do is straighten up and hold your head high because then you'll start to feel better. If you're going to get any joy out of being depressed, you've got to stand like this." - Charlie Brown

WORD NERD

fletcherize \FLECH-uh-rahyz\, verb:

To chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.

Fletcherize is named for the American dietician Fletcher Horace, who advocated chewing each bite of food at least 32 times in order to truly enjoy it.

dictionary.com

I dare you to count the number of chews and see if you can make to 32. I believe in savoring certainly; fletcherizing? We'll see. My best friend growing up was Krista Fletcher. We never fletcherized our food. My definition of fletcherize is to giggle a lot!

As always, I wish you weal.

HAPPINESS CLUB, LOVES PARK, IL

First Thursday every month

6:30 - 8:00 pm

North Suburban Library, 6340 N. Second St., Loves Park

ALL are welcome. Free. Fun. Functional life training.

A short clip of me and H Clubber Marie chatting up the H Club!

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Living with loss? Join the virtual community to share the journey this holiday season at www.tomzuba.com. A clip of Tom in action at Happiness Club.

JOY SPREADERS

Dr. Beth Christensen, owner of Mobile Vet and Happiness Club regular, raised money to gift 126 homeless elementary children in the Rockford school district. She thanks all those who chipped in: With the help of many elves and donations from friends, including those in the Happiness Club, we were able to purchase gifts for students from their wish list and supplement the bags with favorite treats, foods, combs,toothbrushes and other stocking stuffers. We had enough additional funds to purchase over $300 in school supplies to be used for the homeless students as needed during the year. Thanks to all.
Here is one "sleigh load."
Recycle all your unwanted magazines (ANY mags) to me for an upcoming project. Bring to Happiness Club January meeting or leave in plastic bag on my porch. (Contact me for address.)
SPREAD THE JOY: This time of year, the word "joy" is everywhere. Cut out from ads and cards and coupons and catalogs and mailings and magazines and.... During the dreary winter months of Jan, Feb, and March, drop a piece of "joy" into an envelope and send to a friend. Joy droppings are seriously needed all year round.
I will take all your unwanted joy clippings for another future project too. ;)

Quote Junkie

Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.
~ Abraham Lincoln

JOY BOUTIQUE

FUN stocking stuffers! Get cool gifts at the JOY Boutique!

A girl can never have too many sticky note highlighters!

JOY spreaders are signing up! Much to celebrate while we are there!

ITALY!

May 4-11, 2011

Lago Maggiore

One week = the trip of a lifetime!

Find Your Muse, A week of creative expression in Northern Italy

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus (and yes, readers, dreams do come true)!

I've drafted a note for you to send to the North Pole:

Dear Santa,

I would like a trip to Italy. I have been very good, and naughty in all the nice ways. I will send you a postcard from Lago Maggiore and I will ask Kelly to include you in a joy dropping.

sign your name here

Dream a little dream with me:

Old World Charm = Hotel Cannero

SIGN UP BY DEC 31 TO SAVE $200!

Details Click Here!

This trip is open to ALL. (Except crabby complaining types.)

Questions? Contact me. I will have wine meeting after the holidays to show slides and dream with you.

hotel