August Happiness Challenge – Day 3

My 2025 Happiness Icon

Today's happiness: I treated myself and I'm still on budget. I've spent an awful lot of money lately and am trying to reverse the trend. I had $35 in my wallet this morning. Instead of just popping over to Target for the incidentals left on my shopping list, I took advantage of the not-too-hot day and walked a half mile to Dollar Tree. To celebrate my frugality, on the way home I picked up a small order of rib tips (small side of potato salad included in the $9.95 price). Even after shopping and lunch, I've still got $6 in cash! I'm not only happy and satiated, I feel downright virtuous.

 

Happy August Happiness Challenge!

 

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.

 

Photo by Ayşegül Baykal on Unsplash

 

 

Sunday Stealing

About Blogging

1. When are you at your blogging best – a.m. or p.m.? I am at my blogging best when I feel like blogging. The impulse hits me at different times.

2. How many blogs do you have? Please include the links in your answer. In addition to this blog, I am part of the massive team that helps Crazy Sam with Saturday 9 and Sunday Stealing.

3. Do you prefer silence when you compose your posts and write your comments? No. I have tinnitus, and when there's silence I'm distracted by the whooshing. It sounds like I'm forever holding a seashell to my ear. I don't notice it at all if there's the TV or music on.

4. What's the grossest thing you've ever spilled on your keyboard? Let's see, it wasn't gross and, technically speaking, I'm not the one who spilled it. Years ago – I believe the statute of limitations has expired – my cat Reynaldo was jealous of the time I was spending on my work laptop and spilled a nearby margarita. I thought I got most of it before it reached the computer. I was wrong about that. About 12 hours later, when I was back at the office, it started to crap out. IT replaced it with no questions asked, which obviously made me happy.

 5. Ever posted while intoxicated? Posted on my blog? No. Which is not to say I've never written under the influence. I was in advertising for 43 years. At my last job, we had a beer keg in the kitchen (our biggest client, a beer company, sent a new one regularly) and wine was served every day at 4:00. I had a bottle of vodka in my bottom desk drawer at all times and, well, there was the aforementioned margarita incident. But no, I have never posted to this blog while intoxicated. 

Now that I'm no longer in advertising, I realize this is not de rigeur in other work settings. For example, we don't pound 'em back at the card shop. But watch Mad Men. It's just how it is. It's hard to come up with creative concepts on demand and work with a team to deliver them to a timeline. And once I agreed to a deadline, I never missed it. (I've been retired since 10/22 and almost three years later, I still have nightmares about the stress of that job.)