Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Are you doing The Happiness Project with me? I actually started this post at the end of January and read ahead for February. I look up and it’s already the 18th of the month!

The February Happiness Project Goals:

quit nagging, don’t expect praise or appreciation, fight right, no dumping, and give proofs of love

So, there is a big focus on marriage in this month. I think all of the above focus on your relationship with your partner.

This is all according to Gretchen Rubin.

I want to add – check on friends and plan friend activities in the month of February, plan to spend some time with kids, plan fun activities at school for the month of February, and plan a V Day dinner and small gifts. I also want to carry over the decluttering goals from January that I didn’t accomplish.

So, I wrote all of the above at the end of January and I still want to do the things I can. I wasn’t able to do as many activities in class but maybe that’s ok because some kids might not want to dwell on the holiday. As for my family, one kid worked on Valentine’s Day night and one kid went out. It was just Tom, Eddie Otis, and I. Tom came home with this for me:

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I have lots of flowers right now and they are beautiful but sad, so I am glad he went with my favorite – dark chocolate with sea salt. The Sanders are to die for. He found them at Kroger. I only need one to be satisfied. They are decadent.

He took the dog for a walk in the cold and when he came back I told him this was our dinner:

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He looked so relieved. He loves a Totino’s supreme and I was excited to try another Target Good and Gather. It was so good! I gathered this one and the goat cheese and spinach on my last Target trip and the kids had already eaten that one. Someone said this Target brand is pretty clean. We ate our pizza and watched Elspeth. A teacher had made me a cake and it was so delicious for dessert.

Originally I had thought we would go to Fresh Market and pick some fun stuff, but we were both just beat from the week.

So, I have not had a chance to show my love much. I have not been nagging, I have not expected praise, and I haven’t really been fighting. Since my mom passed away on January 28th until now, I have been on the receiving end of proofs of love! And, I guess I haven’t had the energy for the bad behaviors she mentioned.

Because of all the love shown to me, this only makes me want to show love more and to reciprocate. I invited a friend to a Galentine’s event Thursday and it was so good to get out! She is the one who made the beautiful cupcakes in the first photo.

Each year in February I start to see the light at the end of the tunnel of winter and I am ready to be more social. I hibernate most of January and February and it seems that school is the only place I go – and might I say I get plenty of socialization.

I still want to declutter. I am waiting for the motivation but I think I’m close. As The Lazy Genius says, I am going to have “big black trash bag energy”.

What are your goals this month? How have you done?

Amy

13 thoughts on “February Happiness Project”

  2. I think you’re doing great, my friend. Good job with the not nagging! I think that’s a big one for people, and I’m proud of you. You have sweet friends! I always pray that I’m half the friend to my people as they are to me. I love to pay it forward to them, you know? It’s humbling to be the recipient for so long; I felt like that when Dad died. People fed us for almost five weeks straight!

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  3. We brought the flowers home after my mother in law’s funeral and ended with most of them (in law grabbed a few). One sis in law is getting a few in resin and a frame. It was pretty. This month, I have focused on friendships, we went on a double date with friends and I got together with a few friends. This week, since the boys are out from school, we are doing a few fun activities, a movie yesterday, today we are going to the Atlanta Brick company store with our neighbors and we will find another one or two activities for the rest of the week. Focusing on friends and family has been good !

    http://www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com

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  4. Those cupcakes look too pretty to eat! I have been nagging a lot to bet Mike up and walking. I think it’s a way of showing love because it would be far easier to just let him sit. I try hard to keep my expectations low, but I usually fail at that. I still giggle about the way Tom looked at you about the pizza.

    https://marshainthemiddle.com

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  5. The fact that you’re continuing to think of others and seek out happiness in the midst of your grief is inspiring. Sure your Mom would be proud!

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  6. I found this past week that I was feeling much more social and less inclined to keep on “hibernating.” Even though our winter is far from over I’m ready to just grin and bear it and get out of the house more.

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  7. Those flower cupcakes are amazing! It’s not super hard to do with the right decorating tips but it was a lot of icing to make, and to tint and to pipe. Very thoughtful and beautiful gesture for sure! I need to declutter badly! Enjoyed reading your post and I hope are having a good day :).

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  8. Ok…I thought the first pic was flowers!!! So pretty! (& apparently yummy!) I’ve had closet /dresser declutter on my list since January 1. Oh a whim Sunday and then Monday, I’ve purged my closet. I still have my dresser but I’d say I’m 70% finished with the declutter and it felt so nice to do that. I love Totinos pizza …the kids do too but our “go to” now is Digiorno thin crust four meat pizza. I always have at least one in the freezer.

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    1. Right? So realistic. Good for you! I rearranged where some things are in my closet but didn’t purge yet.
      I haven’t tried that one. Some of the frozen pizza is better than some pizza places!

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  9. I am glad you have been the recipient of so much love and you show love year round to your people so well. There is always time to declutter! I hope to do a little more tomorrow. I need to sort through pictures and papers, which is not as fun, but I hope to make a small dent in this project. Hope you have been resting well!

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