Because it was a thrill of a lifetime...

Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day, and if you know about SPD, you know it's a huge party in Savannah, an entire weeklong celebration.

We had our military ball on March 13, and of course, hit the bars afterward. There's nothing quite like partying in downtown Savannah with revelers in their green garb and get-ups. Needless to say, I had such an incredible time I wish we could do it every weekend.

One of the best things about being stationed in Savannah is the tremendous support of the military here. It's a stark contrast to Fort Benning and Columbus, where you had to hide the unit, because no one liked us. Adam's unit is always in the St. Patrick's Day parade. I didn't make it last year, because our dog was on his last legs and couldn't have gone that long without being let out.

Anyway, this year I went. It was one of the best, most thrilling days of my life. They provided a bus for us wives to get downtown, so as to not have to battle traffic. Our bus was behind the guys' bus, and we all had a police escort downtown. It was so cool to see people on the sides of the road waving at the guys and giving them a thumbs up.

The tradition in Savannah is that the girls (old, young, in-between) don red lipstick, and go out and kiss the military men. I had my lip gloss on, and gave my camera to my friend to take the picture of me kissing Adam when he marched by. As soon as I saw him coming down the street, I took off like a bat out of hell and immediately stuck my lips on his. We were hugging and kissing to the point where the parade-goers behind us were yelling, "WOOHOO!!!" I was so overcome with emotion and pride.

It was truly, truly, one of those moments that I will constantly replay in my head for the rest of my life, because it was just that amazing.

Because it seems to be working...

So the Happiness Project seems to be working pretty well for me. Every once in a while, throughout the day, I have to remind myself, "You're happy. You're doing all this laundry because you love your family and want them to have clean undies." I'm not forcing myself to be happy, more like gently reminding myself to find happiness in even the most mundane activities.

I was reading a blog and the writer was talking about muffins. Since everyone is on a cupcake kick, I decided I'll go on a muffin kick. I made banana nut muffins last night, thinking I would reach for one this morning when I was hungry. Yeah right. Those donuts from Wal-Mart were screaming at me to eat them. I couldn't let perfectly good donuts go to waste, even if I was the one who bought them. After reaching for my fourth one yesterday, and trying to close the box, I got a cardboard cut. Like a papercut, my worse. Okay, God, I get it, I don't need to cram four donuts into my flabby self. Point taken.

Today I went to Kroger and bought what I needed to make the boys REAL blueberry muffins, none of that shit from a package. Because it makes me happy to cook and bake from scratch for my boys.

Because it really is a choice...

I downloaded a book, The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin, to my Kindle a few weeks ago. It looked interesting, and I finally got around to reading it over the course of a day or two. (I have time to read, that makes me happy.)

It's hard to sum up the book in just a few sentences. This is what I got from it: Yes, even though I have a great life, in my opinion, there's always room for more happiness. I can change my attitude to make myself happier, and in turn, that makes those around me happier also, even if they don't realize it.

One thing I have been doing, which was talked about in the book (score one point for me) was using things today, and not waiting for tomorrow, because we're never guaranteed tomorrow. Now, I don't have china to use or really fancy undies, but I do have something I love that I surround myself with - candles. I buy $25 ones, I buy $2.50 ones, but I love them all the same. Being cheap, I tend to only light them when someone is coming over, or I want a cozy atmosphere when it's cold outside.

When I started my Anatomy & Physiology course, I realized right away I absolutely hated it. I know, great attitude, Erin. BUT, what I thought was going to be interesting turned out to be SCIENCE. I hate Science almost as much as I hate Math. I took the prerequisites I had to in high school, then chose less taxing classes, like Foods, where my cooking partners had a dime bag of weed they wanted to mix into the brownies we were making. Way to challenge myself, I know.

Anyway, when I sat down at the dining room table with my A&P book, I lit a candle. It wasn't necessarily for the smell (although cinnamon vanilla really does rock the nostrils) but more because it made me HAPPY. What was the harm in burning a $1.50 candle (yes, it was on clearance at Wally World) to make crappy classwork more enjoyable? Absolutely nothing, and it made finishing that class (which I did in less than two weeks, I really do impress myself sometimes) that much more enjoyable.

I'm further exploring the whole "Happiness Project" to see what else I can do to make myself happier. It may sound selfish, but really, if I'm happier, I know it will make everyone around me happier too. At least, I'm hoping so.