Feb joy list, Hmmmm

February Joy List Update

Well February has come and gone and for the most part just kicked my butt. I have has several out of the ordinary things happen this month, some most welcome and some not so much, plus my usual "Mom needs" I have been trying to keep up with everything and mostly did a good job of the keeping up, but kid of sucked at the actual doing. Such is life or at least such is my life. Onward to March!

Now let's see just how lacking I was this month.

1. Continue to expand my horizons
a.  Keep listening to different genres of music weekly (The daily thing was hard some days)
Week 1: Jam Bands
Week 2: Gregorian Chants
Week 3: Jazz vocals (loving some Ella)
Week 4: Percussion sounds
Week 5: Sea Shanties

b. Try a new beverage or adult drink every week.
Week 1: Licorice mint tea  Good but I prefer the plain licorice tea
Week 2: Apricot peach tea (Christmas gift) Tasted like hot Koolaid, not good
Week 3: Arabic Qahwa (Light spiced coffee) This would be a great dessert coffee
Week 4: Nighty Night Tea  Perfectly fine but not memorable
Week 5: This week isn't over yet so this will flip to March

c. Try a new to me recipe weekly
Week 1: Whole 30 ranch dressing
Week 2: Moroccan chicken stew
Week 3: Zhug
Week 4: Buffalo chicken stuffed sweet potatoes
Week 5: Whole30 Salmon Patties

d. Continue learning a new odd fact weekly
Week 1: Next to the US army, Disney world is the largest buyer and importer of explosives in the United States (Can you say fireworks!?!)
Week 2: If the characters from The Simpsons actually aged in real time, Homer would be 65, Marge     64, Bart 39, Lisa 37 and Maggie 29.
Week 3: A human nose can discern and remember 50,00o different scents.
Week 4: Magpies are the only non mammal who can recognize themselves in a mirror
Week 5: During Einstein's 2nd trip to America to lecture at the California Inst. of Technology  he did  not want to meet his math and  physics fellows. He wanted to meet Charlie Chaplin.

e. Read a new to me magazine each week (DIL gave me a subscription to Texture for Christmas so it is doable)
Week 1: Modern Farmer
Week 2: Coastal Living
Week 3: Ricardo
Week 4: Chatelaine
Week 5. See March also

f. Read a self help book (I do not like these at all so this is a real challenge)
The day is not over yet but the odds of me starting and finishing a self help book in the next few hours are pretty slim.

2. Volunteer somewhere
Nope. I was either selfish or bogged down by a few too many other things. February just kicked my butt!

3. Do something expecting nothing in return (Anonymous is best)
OK it was not anonymous, but it was certainly unexpected and I expected nothing in return. Planned and pulled of a surprise proposal party for Son2 and GF2

4. Try to start each day with something spiritual and good for my soul.
Some days are better with this than others

5. Movie, with or without popcorn
Nope

6. Take Mom somewhere fun.
Took her to a Fat Tuesday celebration complete with a jazz band
Took her to the proposal party
Took her out to eat
Had her for dinner here multi times

7. Have people over for a meal.
Had a Valentine's night small dinner party

8. Have a game night. (Thanks Anna for the idea. If you do not read her blog, pop over. She does fun  things and goes interesting places.)
Didn't happen, but probably will this weekend.

9. Contact a long neglected friend.
Talked to a couple of people I have not spoken with in a while because they saw the FB posts of the proposal.


10. Contact a neglected relative.
Done unintentionally. My special needs elderly uncle needed to be placed somewhere and I talked with 2 cousins at length about his care. I have not seen or talked with either of them for a couple of years. They are much younger than me but really fun people to be around. I should be ashamed for letting so much time pass without contacting them. I have talked with them off and on throughout the month catching up and keeping up with my uncle's progress in his new surroundings.

11. Listen to others more intently
Fortunately this is paying off. I learned through listening that GF2 loves teal and daffodils. Both came in handy when planning the surprise. 

12. Make something for Christmas. Can be a craft or gift
Made a prototype of a lavender sleep spray. The actual gifts will need to be made closer to Christmas, but I foresee making it for several people, and now I know exactly how to make it

13. See a play, show or some kind of concert
Nope


14. Spend at least one weekend at the lake place
We had a wonderful weekend there

15. Plan a special Valentine's Dinner at home
Had a lovely meal at home complete with Valentine's decor and tablescape, (Not typical for me)

16. Hand make Valentine's cards
Didn't happen. I found some really cute ones at Dollar Tree for 50 cents each, so 3 bucks later I had all I needed.

17. Bake Mom tea cakes for Valentine's Day (She loves them)
I called her to get her recipe and she told me she did not ever want them again because they remind her of Dad and it makes her sad. (He loved them) So I did not make them for her and just bought her some chocolates.

18. Organize my DayTimer (It is beyond time to replace and update the address section) and reflect on the fun things that were recorded for the prior year.
Partially done! I was not able to find the blank address pages, had to order them.

19. Find somewhere to people watch.
Several places and several times, including Cowboy Day is a small town south of here. We were eating breakfast out while at the lake and had no idea it was going on. It was fun to watch the people decked out in their period costumes on horseback or riding wagons.

20. Invest time for writing.
Yeah, no! No time for it this month, March maybe? 

21. Give away a minimum of 28 items 
Done

22. Keep a daily unexpected joy list
Most Days.

23. On a warmish day go outside and listen to all the song birds.
It was so nice to sit in the sun on a spring like day and just listen. What a lovely ever changing melody. Added benefit was a few neighbors walking by stopped to chat.

24. Since the sun rises each day, watch at least one.
Finally, I caught one (right before I was going to sleep because I pulled an accidental all-nighter)

25. Find some local live music and enjoy it.
Listened to some great and free jazz.

26. Have lunch with friends
Nope!

27. Paint or draw
I doodled and made flowers from tissue paper and crepe paper for the party. Does that count?
The daffodils were especially pretty and they are GF2's favorite flowers

28. Organize the laundry room (It will truly give me great joy to have it organized)
What can I say. It's a work in progress. I physically can't move one piece by myself and have had exactly zero help when asked.

29. Be grateful for everything.
Most things! I've been grateful for most things!

Unexpected joys (listed by date)

1.  Found an unexpected bargain at The Pig
2.  Neighborhood girls were selling Girl Scout cookies door to door (Can you say Thin Mints?)
3.  The laundry room flooded (not joyous) but TheHub was home and helped me clean up the mess
4.  The Super Bowl was a great spectator game
5.  Surprise! I got a calendar in the mail from Anna! Thank you so much!
6.  Found the Texture app that DIL gave me for Christmas has Consumer Report. Was able to research washer ratings there.
7. ??? 
8.  Purchased new washer. (Only took a few trips to the laundromat to realize what a joy having a working washer is)
9.  Found a great new (at least to us) place to eat. Soul Food/Caribbean Fusion
10. Got a fantastic video of Pip followed by some FaceTime
11. Lost of laughs with GF2
12. ????
13. Fat Tuesday, need I say more?
14. Roses!
15. ???
16. Son2 purchased an engagement ring!
17. Breakfast out complete with great people watching.
18. Beautiful morning on the lake place deck, drinking coffee and listening to Duke Ellington. 
19. Party favors turned out really cute. Son2 was very pleased with them.
20. Finished all food for the party and was in bed before 1 a.m.
21. Proposal Day
22. Took Mom to doc and she is mostly well!
23. Slept in, woke at 9 and it was blissful!
24. ???
25. Relaxing day listening to music and reading
26. Laughed so hard while talking with My Beloved Sister that I actually spewed coffee.
27. Got the sweetest email from Uncle Bob reminiscing about Aunt Ruth's death "I re-live those moments of grief frequently, but more than that I re-live the joy she brought to me"(He is a great guy)
28. Designated Survivor is back on!