Cheery

Make Someone Happy!

by Vickey Pahnke Taylor April 2, 2013

Guess what I just learned? Another good way to make someone happy! Found out about it through Pauley Perrette. She works with lots of homeless organizations in ways that help on a grassroots level….

Wait – let me back up.

Pauley is the woman who plays the role of Abbi on NCIS. I love the show. Maybe because my dad and my son were in the Navy, and my son-in-law still serves. Maybe because it has fabulous writing and direction. It really doesn’t matter. I”m …

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Happy

Good And Cold

by Vickey Pahnke Taylor January 29, 2013

Brrr. It’s cold. Again. Good and cold. Gotta love it.

After being almost – warm – enough – to – sit – outside – for – a – few – minutes – in – the – sun. But it’s all good.

I think I finally figured out that, like Mark Twain once said:

Climate is what we expect. Weather is what we get.

It’s a lot like life. What we want and what we get are often very different. Sometimes because we make poor …

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Goodness

A Christmas Gift – Humor is Good!

by Vickey Pahnke Taylor December 20, 2012

One good Christmas gift we can give ourselves and the world around us? The gift of good humor.

I have laughed my way through a lot of life, so far… Having learned it is more productive, more effective, and more fun than weeping or wringing my hands. But I’ve done plenty of that, too. It’s just that the years have taught me to wring and weep less [unless they're tears of joy and tenderness] and laugh a lot more often.

It is in my …

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Humor

Dig Out. Climb Up. Pry Open. Be Happy

by Vickey Pahnke Taylor November 6, 2012

Digging out of the dirt. Climbing up from the hole. Prying open a window [to let in sunlight] during a moment when everything seems [or is, for real] dark and contrary. My Happy has been temporarily displaced.

Most days I’m in a pretty good mood. If I don’t start out that way, I’ve learned a few tricks to flip it around. But sometimes… sometimes, the gray cloud seems to seep into the pores of my body and invade the warmth and sunshine of my …

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Happy

I’ve Made A Mess of Things

by Vickey Pahnke Taylor October 2, 2012

Oh, the times I’ve made a mess of things! Foot in mouth disease -bad. Overwrought. Overwhelmed. Taking a molehill incident and creating a mountain. Going to Worst Case Scenario. Ugghhh. It’s a ridiculous way to live. [the photo is from theberry.com, but I've had lots of moments like this- outwardly and inwardly -in my life.]

Finally, I began to see the forest instead of only the trees. It made things a lot simpler. And life, for the most part, happier.

Mostly, the increased joy factor …

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Joy

Good Quotes. Good Mood. Good Day.

by Vickey Pahnke Taylor September 26, 2012

I’m am a quote-aholic. Good quotes can often help make, for me, a good day. They boost my mood, give courage, and deepen my understanding. Sometimes, they just make me laugh. It’s all good. Words are important. So we should take care to verbalize good ones. It can make a world of difference in the quality of our journey.

With gratitude to those who were inspired to share good words, here are a few quotes you may want to add to your file:

1. Henry …

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Goodness Matters

Humor – Laught At It and Live With It

by Vickey Pahnke Taylor September 8, 2012

Humor is a good gift. I have to use it… otherwise, I might have lost what’s left of my mind by now. Ha. This is a mantra I use:

If you can laugh at it, you can live with it.

That’s what Erma Bombeck said. Well, I also saw Author Unknown. So I’m not sure who originally said it. But it’s a good sentence to remember.

As it turns out, I’m easily distracted. I went decades having no idea. I just thought I was forgetful. …

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Humor

A Few Good Ideas for Happiness

by Vickey Pahnke Taylor April 16, 2012

Thomas S. Monson offers some good, practical ideas to increase our happiness quotient. At least, that’s what I call it. We can be happy in direct proportion to our perspective in any given situation. Keeping ourselves steady allows us to remain right side up in a sometimes upside down world.

Today, I share the first few suggestions he has taught. They’re easy and do-able:

1. Keep your mind stored with constructive thoughts.

The negatives of getting through heaps of laundry, dealing with crazy traffic, struggling …

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Happy

Simple Things are Often the Sweetest

by Vickey Pahnke Taylor January 27, 2012

Simple things are often the sweetest things of all. Remember blowing bubbles as a kid? And enjoying watching your children, or grandchildren, having so much fun with such a simple little toy?

I wonder why we love the bubbles?

Maybe it’s because we use our imagination, or remember that Good Witch from The Wizard of Oz who floated around in a giant bubble. It might take us back to our childhood days. Or maybe it’s just because it’s fun.

What’s wrong with having fun? Or …

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Cheer

Ho, Ho, Ho: A Good Thing?

by Vickey Pahnke Taylor December 7, 2011

“Ho ho ho!”

So goes Santa’s greeting. We see it all over the place. Is it a good thing?

Christmas cheer. Christmas shopping. Christmas lists. Checking off the lists. Making more of them.

Awakening in the middle of the night wondering if we did this, wrapped that, or thought of [whatever… you fill in the blank.]

Ho ho ho-ing all over the places as advertisers pound the consumers and shoppers rush into each other, or knock over each other, or blare their horn at one …

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Peace

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