happy hours

Despite our best hopes and efforts, sometimes things just don't work out. Take last night's game between Syracuse and Butler, for example. Although the second part of my first sentence is arguable, my friends and I congregated at Chuck's last night (along with a couple of random Cornell/Kentucky fans) to support our team in all of it's Orange glory. And then, we lost :(.

"The Sweet 16 turned sour for the Syracuse Orange." Okay, that's the last we'll speak of that. Nonetheless, I don't believe that we should be any more hopeful for bigger and better things in our future, both on and off of the court. I have only fifty days left until graduation (scary? exciting?) and I'm going to try to all that I can to make each one of those 1,200 hours, happy.

Ah, breakfast, a no-fail happy time. Strawberry and banana is my all time favorite combination and paired with a scoop of the delectable Marantha No-Stir Almond Butter it was a perfectly wonderful start to my day. By the way, this is my first time trying a Marantha nut butter, and I have to say that it blows my mind! I don't understand what took me so long to buy it either, it was the cheapest on the shelf. Anyway :) yesterday, I filled myself with other feel-good things too...

I enjoyed both of my classes, ate yummy things, called my Mom, had a great run as planned, cleaned my room, made further progress in the job search, and I spent time with friends. Not to mention that I recently discovered three things to be proud of, a sure-fire smile enhancer:

• - I'm published in Fitness for the 3rd time! Check out pages 134 & 138 in the April issue.
• - My first edited Lost Girls piece is live, 8 Ways to Love Dining Solo.
• - The latest Friday's Foodie Feature on Travel, Eat, Love is featuring yours truly.

And last but not least, if all else fails, some tips from a Women's Health self-help happiness article, How to Be Happier.

Find your good side -> " Finding ways to use your character strengths on a daily basis will directly lead to feeling better about yourself and your life in general... Doing good makes you feel good." 

Fuel your resilience -> "The more skillful you become at bouncing back, the less any kind of adversity will be able to shake your inner sense of well-being...'Shit happens, but that doesn't mean I have to stand in it.'" 

Engage in Mind-Bending Behavior -> "Studies now show that changes in behavior can also have positive effects on your brain chemistry... Those who completed the study [in meditation] showed increased activity in their brain's pleasure center and reported feeling more positive and at ease... [And] you won't be surprised to hear that exercise has also been found to change your brain — and disposition — for the better." 

Know that some things matter little... -> Not wealth, an advanced degree, youth, a warm weather environment, or having a family were proven to have any effect on overall happiness. 

And that some things matter big -> "[In a] survey of 909 women, the activity enjoyed above all others was socializing with friends... people enjoy themselves most when they're so fully engaged in what they're doing that they lose all sense of place, time, and even self."

"You have to make yourself happy." I'd don't personally find the term self-help to be all happiness-inducing but I do agree that it's in our best interest to actively work towards our own well-being. 

Q: What is it that you think or do simply to make yourself happy?

P.S. According the University of Kentucky, being optimistic can protect from disease.